Bone of Contention
by Tsume Yuki
Summary: Naruto figured that if she could survive the Fourth Shinobi War, she could obviously survive the Clan Wars. But now, with no allies and Kurama sleeping on the job, she finds herself in a little over her head. Not to mention the whole eleven years old again business. Naruto quickly finds out what it means to be the only Jinchuriki running around in wartime. FemNaruto and Time Travel
1. Part 1-1

**Bone of Contention  
****Part 1-1**

**_Day 1_**  
October 10th

"Naruto!"

At the sound of her name being called out, Naruto whipped her head around to find the source. Sasuke stared back at her, his eyes wide and disbelieving, but mostly focused upon the ground beneath her feet. The ground beneath her feet which was covered in Fūinjutsu lines. Where had they come from? Wasn't everything suppose to be over now? Kaguya was sealed, locked away forever by the awesome power that was the Naruto-Sasuke combo, best friends, brother and sister in all but blood.

"It's a time-delay jutsu!" Kakashi-sensei's voice was the next thing Naruto registered, and she turned big blue eyes to look at her silver haired sensei. Now that she thought about it, her reactions were slowing, her thought process struggling. In fact, she was struggling to hear what they were all talking about around her. A last minute attempt to do her in? Naruto didn't like the sound of that.

And then there was Kurama's roar of denial, both from inside her seal and out, his viciousness and the sudden mass of chakra surging outwards, trying to break the Fūinjutsu array.

Dear god, she wished she'd paid more attention to Jiraiya when he was going on about seals. But she'd been too focused on getting a good jutsu, because sealing would take years of study that she didn't want to waste on anything other than battle-worthy jutsu. Yeah, that'd really been a mistake.

Kurama's roar of annoyance was the very last thing she heard before the pain took over. And what a mighty pain it was, running through her body, leaping form bone to bone, limb to limb and it would have left her gasping for breath if she wasn't too busy screaming instead.

She could remember everything, the dimensions hopping about before her eyes as they chased Kaguya, black Zetsu hiding beneath her large sleeve, such a mamma's boy. Neji's death, Madara and Hashirama and all the other Hokages. Dad. Her dad, stood before her smiling before he was suddenly beamed up and then the Fūinjutsu array beneath her feet. The one that felt like it'd been ripping away her life force, shredding it and forcing her body to begin shrinking in on itself.

It was burning now, every inch of her skin and all that lay beneath it, it felt like her body had been forcibly tenderized and she had no doubt Kurama would have his work cut out for her, to heal whatever mess this Fūinjutsu was creating. Naruto felt more pain race through her body and she let out a final scream before she lost consciousness.

* * *

In a land that would someday become the home of a Village hidden beneath the crushing force of a waterfall, a young couple pressed themselves into the natural groove into the stone, ragged breaths mingling as their faces came closer and closer together. Between them, sheltered and protected was a small bundle, wrapped up in cloth. Their little baby girl had been born just moments ago, a beautiful little thing with dark wisps of hair and as far as they could tell, beautiful green eyes.

They lived a quiet life here, with other villagers who wanted to get away from all the ninja in the outside world, to stay away from the clan wars that were happening. But that also meant that receiving any help for their current predicament was impossible.

Terrified screams shattered through what had once been a peaceful night and the young couple curled that much closer to their baby girl, only the male daring to gaze out of their only shelter. He watched in horror as the great beast lay waste to what had once been a peaceful town, giant tails sweeping across the land, splintering tree and houses as it went. It didn't even seem effected by the cries that came out from beneath it's large feet, those red eyes narrowing on what the beast would only consider a small meal. The villagers were trying to flee as fast as they could, scrambling about with their limbs slipping and skidding across the worn earth.

And then it happened.

An earth shattering bang, and then there was a young girl, she couldn't have been more than a decade in age, with long blonde hair and tanned skin. A lot of tanned skin, considering she was as naked as the day she'd been born. But it was the design on her stomach, the black squiggly lines that the male knew to be one of those ninja arts, that really caught everyone's attention. Even though the girl was unconscious, it still reached forwards, seeming to forcibly drag the struggling nine-tailed fox towards her. The massive beast disappearing into her stomach.

Clutching at his wife's shaking form, the male could only watch in awe as the girl dropped the last few feet to the ground, the black ink upon her stomach smoking and the long blonde hair only just covering her modesty. She was quite clearly unconscious, but she had saved them. Intentional or not.

And he'd see she lived for it, at the very least.

* * *

**_Day 2_**  
October 11th

Something was tickling at her nose. What being would dare to tickle her precious, cute as a button nose?

Cracking one blurry eye open and scanning for the offender, Naruto was somewhat started to be met with the sight of grass. Lots and lots of grass. Last she checked, the battlefield had been quite thoroughly cleared of grass, hell, of any form of vegetation not summoned up by a Hokage or a Madara. She should therefore not be face down in a patch of grass. Nor should she be able to feel it all over her body as if someone had stolen the very clothes off her back.

Grimacing at the very idea, Naruto rolled over, hissing in pain when the sun proceeding to burn the back of her corneas. Forearm instantly shooting up to defend her eyes, Naruto forced herself to once again open her oculi, but at a much slower and cautious pace, allowing them time to become accustomed to witnessing the outside world again. Once again, she clocked her very bare forearm, devoured of the protective arm-guards she'd taken to wearing, much like the standard ANBU equipment. Funny, the idea of being robbed blind was suddenly back on her list of possibilities. But who would dare to rob her? She'd just finished fighting a war, she and all of Team Seven were heroes now, they-

_"Naruto!"_

Naruto froze, remembering the panic in Sasuke's voice.

That's right, the Fūinjutsu. It'd burnt off all her clothes? But that didn't explain the sudden burning she'd felt everywhere eyes.

Looking around the clearing, Naruto sat up, and then squawked in surprise, staring down at her body. The blanket, which had evidently been the only thing covering her modesty, had fallen to pool around her waist. But Naruto wasn't bothered about that. What had happened to her boobs? Her fabulous lady-lumps?! Where has they gone?!

It was only after a minute of panicking that Naruto realized her body was significantly younger than before, judging by the small, rounder limbs. The seal had de-aged her? Was that even possible?

Kurama had sounded worried and flooded the thing with chakra, so it was blindingly obvious it could have kept going. So maybe her partner had changed the seal's design? She knew enough about Fūinjutsu to realize he'd have to have stuck with the original idea, so something to do with time?

That was enough thinking for her, she needed to get back to the Leaf, and fast.

Quickly assessing her situation, taking note of the trees that were not of Fire Country so she was quite possibly still in enemy territory -were there any enemies left?- which meant she had to figure out where she was.

Rubbing wearily at her head, Naruto forced herself to stand, wrapping the blanket around her very naked body for the moment, before she noticed a pack sat off to the side. And resting atop it was, dear lord, clothing!

Happily releasing the itchy blanket of it's modesty covering duties, Naruto skipped over to the clothing, pulling on the loose grey shirt and worn black pants. Not her usual colours, but she was just happy to see clothes at his point. Her younger body was still screaming in pain, but she pushed past it, determined to get to the bottom of whatever Fūinjutsu had hit her.

Pulling up the light fabric of her shirt, Naruto eyed the black seal upon her stomach, which felt far more tender to the touch than it should have done. It was locked again, which was odd. She had Kurama had been fighting side by side, why would the fox seal himself up again?

Scratching wearily at the back of her neck, Naruto sat back down, forcing her body into a somewhat comfortable position before letting her eyes slide shut. She needed to figure out what was going on, and at the moment, her best source of information was the very old Bijū sat in her stomach. However, when she tried to grasp at the pathways to her inner mind, the usual route that she'd always traversed, she was bounced back, the whole thing slipping through her metaphorical fingers.

Okay, so she was in the middle of nowhere, had woken up butt naked with nothing but a blanket and some supplies that clearly weren't her's, no access to Kurama and once again eleven years old. Perhaps that mystery Fūinjutsu had done a little more than she'd first thought. The seal was locked up tight, she couldn't contact Kurama and she was back in her pre Team Seven body.

Forcing down the bubble of panic because ninjas did not panic, Naruto snatched up the small parchment that was resting upon her new pack, flipping it open.

'_Kunoichi, _

_You have my deepest thanks for saving us from the Nine-tailed demon. However, I am ashamed to say most of my village does not feel the same way. As a run away from a clan myself, I know a bit more about the ninja arts, and what you just preformed, sealing a Bijū, was powerful work. I have snuck your sleeping form out of the village, but I regret I can not leave you with more than these supplies. Please be careful out there, the warring clans are only getting more and more vicious as time goes on. _

_-A grateful villager_'.

Naruto blinked.

Warring clans? Sealing Kurama? Hell, Kurama attacking a village?

It suddenly hit her at once.

A seal designed to de-age her, sucking the life from her. Kurama helping in the only way he knew how, over-powering the objective of the seal and rewriting it. Her smaller form.

Holy Bijū, she was back in time! What the hell?! Kurama better wake his ass up, because she needed answers.

Now.

* * *

**Where to start? For those who don't know, this is a rewrite of my unfinished story, a second attempt that I'm going to actually finish this time around. Or, I hope so. I've managed to finish a story recently, so hopefully that skill will carry on to this one? **

**For those who do know, welcome back? Thanks for picking this up again. **

**Any questions?  
**

**Tsume  
xxx**


	2. Part 1-2

**Bone of Contention  
****Part 1-2**

**_Day 4_**  
October 13th

"Father." Madara made sure to bow his head just so, his hands resting atop his thighs, fingers curled around his knees and feet beneath his rear. It was the respectful posture of a clan heir, of the clan heir, and he hated it. So damn uncomfortable.

It was the usual weekly meeting, leaving him sat alongside Izuna, with little Nori sat upon his younger brother's other-side, his limbs already trembling from having to hold the whole respectful position. Madara grimaced, already itching to get back to his training. He was the strongest Uchiha born in recent years, or so everyone told him. And he had to live up to that standard. End of story.

"Tajima-sama! Tajima-sama!"

Frowning at the floor, Madara grimaced at the sound of his older cousin. Hikaku was in charge of news when it came to the world outside the Uchiha compound. Enemy movements, he knew it. Big job offers, he'd already have gotten the client in contact with them. Natural disaster heading their way? Time to move. He had his own little spy network up and running, and it'd proven effective. A good many civilians were willing to keep the Uchiha up to date on the latest news in exchange for being the first person they come to when they were in the area. It worked well, the shop-keepers got steady customers and the Uchiha got steady news. But whatever news this was, it had to be big for Hikaku to dare interrupt the clan head when he was addressing his remaining sons.

"Rise boys."

Madara did so gratefully, straightening his back, and not missing the way Nori rubbed the back of his neck with ungainly movements. Madara forced his lips not to twitch upwards in a smile, especially when he noticed Izuna forcing himself not to copy their youngest brother, his hand clenching into a fist.

"It's big news, worrying..." Hikaku trailed off, running a hand across his forehead and gathering the nervous sweat with his fingertips, presenting the scroll he'd been holding to their father.

Relaxing slightly, Madara adjusted his weight about on his legs until he was sat back on a haunches, far more comfortable than what he'd previously been. Folding his hands together into his lap, he waited for his cousin to elaborate upon what was so worrisome, what had seen to him racing into this lesson and interrupting. Izuna and Nori had copied him, he noted from the corner of his eye, but in far less graceful manner.

Ah, the joy of being the eldest.

It was only Nori's third meeting though, brought into the fold not long after Mikobi, his twin, had perished on his first mission. Madara still felt terrible over the death of their second youngest brother, and he'd do anything to protect both Nori and Izuna. Of course, with it being Nori's third meeting his posture was slipping, though thankfully their father was too focused upon the scroll in his hands to notice it. Making a mental note to remind his little brother once they were out of Father's oh so large hearing range, Madara turned his attention back to the two older males in the room, noticing his cousin looked surprisingly ashen.

"The Kyuubi has been spotted in Waterfall Country," Hikaku murmured for the three of them.

There was a low silence as Madara did the mental maths. Waterfall country was a day's trip away from here at full speed for a ninja, something that a demon as large and the Kyuubi could cover at an amiable lumber. He forced himself to keep the nerves at bay, to not let them show upon his face because that was not allowed. Ninja, especially Uchiha, did not show their emotions. Unless they were younger then ten and in the comforts of their own clan compound apparently, because both Izuna and Nori shared a fearful look.

"This is worrying news, but I still see no reason for this to have been brought to my attention right this instant, unless the beast is upon our back-door."

"But Tajima-sama, one of my contacts said the Kyuubi had been, ah, sealed."

What?

Sure, Madara knew that Fūinjutsu could seal things, supplies into a scroll, it was one of the first things most children learnt, so that they weren't stuck carrying their stuff all the time. A basic storage scroll was a life saver, as long as you didn't lose it of course. But, the kind of power needed to seal the Kyuubi into something had to be astronomical, no wonder Hikaku had interrupted their lesson with Father, this was certainly something they needed to know about.

"Who sealed it?!"

"A little girl sealed it, well, she sealed it into her self."

"Into herself?!"

Madara couldn't find the heart to tell Izuna off for his interruption, he'd been close to doing so himself. Was it even possible to seal something into yourself, never mind the greatest calamity to ever roam the earth? What kind of power would that take?

It was as the word power rang through Madara's head that he came to a startling realization.

There was a girl walking around out there with the power levels of a Bijū, of the Bijū. There was a girl out there that could possibly learn to wield the power of that destructive force. He felt sick. Because that power wasn't in the hands of the Uchiha, which meant it was either in the hands of an unknown, or worse, their enemies.

"The girl?" Their clan leader, because he wasn't their father at this moment in time, demanded, face tight.

"Blonde, long hair, tanned skin, about eleven years old. Odd whisker like markings on the cheeks, no known clan affinity. She disappeared in the middle of the night. They haven't seen her since."

Madara was having a hard time picturing it. A girl, no older than he, sealing away a beast like the Kyuubi? He'd heard horror stories, even passed through a village that the fox had taken out. It'd been a wreck, no homes left, littered with bodies of the fallen. Sure whatever ninja that were there appeared to have put up a fight, but it had clearly not been enough. And then suddenly, a little girl takes care of it all?

"Alert the forces," Tajima murmured, a thumb and forefinger rubbing at the bridge of his nose like the very idea of this information caused him physical pain when it came to even thinking about it, "tell them to keep a look out for the girl, and if possible, bring her in. If you meet too much resistance, you destroy her. If she won't join our forces, we can't risk her joining another."

.

Walking out of the main hall, Madara stretched his arms above his head, rotating the limbs and letting out a low purr as they flowed with the motion. Their father had gone to gather up two others, determined to go and collect more information for the source, a little village in Waterfall country. Which left the three of them to their own devices for a while. Izuna had perched himself atop a training long, legs calmly folded beneath him as Nori began working through his katas, trying to mirror all of Madara's movements.

"Do you think it's true brother, that a girl managed to seal the Kyuubi?" Izuna peered down at him, coal eyes bright with curiosity and a funny little frown upon his face. Izuna and Nori, they hadn't seen death like Madara had yet, they didn't have the experience he did. And he planned to keep it that way as long as he possibly could.

"I don't know Izuna," he flowed onto the next counter, allowing a small smirk to twitch at the corner of his lips when he watched Nori overbalance himself and fall forwards, "but if it's true, be careful. I won't lose the two of you."

Both boys nodded seriously and Madara pushed down the uneased that rested within him. Father was on the case. Everything would be fine.

* * *

**_Day 6_**  
October 15th

Letting out a pathetic whimper, Naruto scrunched up her nose and eyes, hoping that whoever owned that blasted foot would get the hint and scram. Yet it once again dug into her side, provoking a lazy swipe towards the general source from Naruto.

A small, light gasp alerted her to the fact that she wasn't alone, and Naruto let out a low sigh. Clearly not an hostile, because otherwise she'd have been killed already. She'd done her damn best to set up a series of traps before surrendering to the much desire sleep, but apparently this person had been damn lucky to get around all of them without setting off a single one.

Cracking open a sleep riddled eye, Naruto stared up at the figure currently blocking out the sun.

"You okay?"

It was a boy, probably about her physical age. His hair was, for lack of better description, awful from this angle. He looked like he'd taken Rock-Lee's bowl cut, ruffled it up ever so slightly and then lightened it to a chocolate brown. His face was familiar, so very familiar.

Grimacing, Naruto sat up from her position laid out on the floor, rubbing sleepily at one eye as she did so. So far, she'd come across two clans already. One had left her alone, watching her walk by with curious eyes but not stopping her progress through the forest.

The other however, the other had been that blasted Iwa clan full of pyromaniacs that liked to blow stuff up. She hadn't even been able to finish her introduction before she was declared an enemy and they turned hostile on her. It was only thanks to years of training, and that little chase with Deidara that she'd gotten away from the sudden rain of bombs. Of course, not unharmed, but the burn she'd gotten upon her forearm was now healed, so she couldn't really complain.

Stupid psycho bombers.

"I think?"

The boy's dark eyes were inspecting her, still leaning over her slouched form with a curious look upon his tanned face. And while the little detective wannabe was completing his inspection, Naruto took stock of her own inventory. Her kunai pouch was still wrapped around her thigh, and her pack looked unopened, so either the boy hadn't gone snooping, or he'd done it well enough that she couldn't tell. One or the other.

"Hey, did you get hit with a fire jutsu? Or explosives?" The strange boy had crouched down beside her now, carefully taking hold of Naruto's right arm to inspect what had been a wound yesterday. Now it was new pink skin, as always she'd bounced right back into perfect health, leaving no scar behind.

"Your clothes say you were hurt recently, but you haven't got a wound," the boy whispered, twisting her arm back and forth, dark eyes fixated on the skin while his fingertips -rough and callous, obviously he'd been handling weapons for a while- brushed against the new skin.

"When did you get hurt?" The boy grinned, releasing her arm to rub sheepishly at the back of his neck.

"Yesterday," Naruto murmured, cautious, "I heal quickly."

The boy looked astonished, eyes darking back to her burnt sleeve before the dark irises were focused upon her face again, taking in every part of it as Naruto returned the favour, pushing down the amusement that swirled around inside her stomach. Now that no one knew who she was, or rather, what she was, they all seemed spell-bound by her instantaneous healing rate. The Iwa bombers certainly had been. But of course, Jinchuriki hadn't been thought of yet. If she remembered correctly, Mito Uzumaki, the wife of the First Hokage, became the first one to seal a tailed-beast inside a human, inside herself. And then all the nations had been scrambling for one. Naruto mentally snorted.

Not if she had anything to say about it. Not this time.

"That's cool," the boy spoke softly, offering her a hand as he stood up.

Naruto allowed herself to be pulled upwards, standing at eye level with the other ninja who quickly let go of her hand once she was on her feet.

"My name's Hashirama! But I can't tell you my clan name... Clan rules and all."

Naruto wasn't really listening past the first name. No wonder the kid's face was so familiar, she'd seen it on a mountain nearly everyday of her life. And she'd fought beside his resurrected self in the war too. Holy heavens and hell, this was the first Hokage she was speaking to. And he was just a child. It was obvious now why the sight of him had been ringing a bell the size of the Kyuubi in her head.

Curses, Sakura had been right, she should have paid more attention in history. Otherwise she'd be able to help massively with the construction of the Leaf Village now. Only, she wouldn't be able to do so because she couldn't remember anything. Not even when Konoha's was founded! Only that it was Hashirama and Madara who'd founded it.

Not sure how she felt about Madara at the moment, Naruto pushed that thought away, instead focusing on getting her name out passed the frog in her throat.

When it came out as nothing more than a croak, Hashirama offered up a small water skin, obviously his own. Naruto's eyes would have probably narrowed in suspicion had she not already recognised who the boy was. However, never one to pass up anything for free, a mindset drilled into her through years of living alone, Naruto took the offering gratefully, taking a long swing before hacking up whatever had been stuck in her throat.

"Naruto."

"Huh?"

"My name, it's Naruto. Namikaze Naruto." She'd learnt her lesson about giving out the Uzumaki name.

That's what she'd introduced herself as to the bombers of future Iwa, and the second they'd heard that name they'd almost started foaming at the mouth. That's why they'd attacked, the mere mention of an Uzumaki relation, even if she was missing the red hair, and they'd completely lost it. Apparently they had a long standing feud with the Uzumakis, something that didn't surprise Naruto. If all her mother's family shared her temper, then she found she had no shock accepting the fact the equally hot tempered bombers were warring with the red-heads.

Still, it didn't make her life any easier, even if she had learnt the lesson to not use that clan name. Ever. Thankfully, Minato Namikaze had been an orphan from a young age, and as such, there was no Namikaze clan out there.

For what was possibly the first time in her life, it was safer to go by her father's name instead of her mother's.

"Namikaze?" Hashirama repeated, sounding the word out slowly, as if to see how it rolled off his tongue. Naruto knew he was really trying to look through his memories to see if he recognised a clan by that name, and no doubt what their standing with the Senju were.

So, Naruto rushed to fill in the blanks for him with some half-truths. For the best lies were always the ones with a grain of truth.

"My dad was a first generation ninja, he got taught by a wandering toad sage. Only, he died when I was born, so the sage took me in for training too. He died a year ago." A year ago in Naruto's eyes at least.

Bang, nothing but truth there.

Hashirama seemed to think so as well, because he offered up a huge grin.

"No wonder I haven't heard of a Namikaze clan then! So you're a ninja... But you're on your own?"

Of course, at the moment everyone moved about in clans, safety in numbers and all that. But Naruto couldn't have that currently. The only place she could claim a family connection was the Uzumakis, and they'd find the seal on her stomach no doubt. And she would not become a weapon in war. No way, no how.

"Sure am. I guess you are too?"

Naruto eyed the boy's kunai pouch, listening in amazement as Hashirama let out a loud, full belly laugh. No one else she knew really laughed like that, especially as the war had come upon them. It was refreshing. She liked it, liked what she knew of his personality. Which wasn't too surprising considering the fact they had the same spirit, that they had similar tones to their chakra.

"So how good are you?"

"Wanna find out?"

Hashirama eyed her warily, eyebrows knitting together slightly as he thought. Naruto made her way over to the river, stepping out onto the liquid as if it were solid ground. Judging by the lack of a gasp from Hashirama, he already knew the technique. Good. Falling into her favourite stance, Naruto raised a blonde brow at the boy, grinning.

"Well?"

.

They traded blows across the surface of running water, sending little waves crashing to the banks as they shot about one another. Naruto was irritated to realize that her taijutsu was shot to hell, she kept aiming further than she should now that her limbs had been shortened, and if Hashirama had been any better than what he was, she'd have been beaten easily.

Luckily enough, the boy was skilled, but not skilled enough that she had to rely on instinct to take him down. So at the very least she was able to focus on her blows to make sure that they hit, even if Hashirama managed to block or dodge the vast majority. The one time she'd gotten a kick through his guard, Naruto had been forced to stop, otherwise she'd have broke a rib laughing at the face the brunette had pulled as he bounced down the river like a skipping stone. He'd rubbed at his side were her kick had hit somewhat disturbed by the power behind her blow, no doubt it'd be as bruised as a roughly banana in the morning.

Naruto had been seconds away from calling the spar off, when Hashirama had instead let out a joyous laugh, bouncing back towards her and looking as if he'd caught his second wind. Naruto mirrored the sound.

It'd been so long since she'd just sparred for the sake of sparring. Not for training, not full out fighting, but just a competition between two friends looking to further their abilities by pitting themselves against one another. She'd been at war, and after that, she'd been ducking between clans that had no love for outsiders, making her way towards the place she'd forever call home. Only, the village wasn't built yet, leaving her homeless.

For now that was. So it was pleasant to lose herself in a purely physical spar, to forget about everything other than blocking and dodging Hashirama's attacks, and returning her own.

.

As their legs came together in a bodily twisted scissor kick, Naruto flew backwards, taking a dunk in the river from the force of the blow. The water was cool against her overheated skin, and even as the slightly too large clothes began sticking to her skin, Naruto still found a grin upon her face as she surfaced. Hashirama had apparently suffered the same fate, his hair stuck to his skull and hell, she'd just been sparring with the first Hokage and they'd come to a draw. A draw. Forget that he was a kid and her taijutsu was seriously messed up. Naruto would never forget this light-hearted day.

"I haven't had a spar that good for a while!"

Hashirama had crawled up onto the riverbank now, shaking his head and sending dislodged water droplets splattering about everywhere. He was grinning, but it was a bit lopsided, considering she'd managed to land a punch on his cheek that was rapidly purpling. That had to hurt. Though she'd certainly have had a few bruises too, had it not been for some Bijū healing powers. She'd tried not to punch him too hard in the face, but it'd been such an easy shot after all.

"Neither have I, you're good."

That was obvious, he was going to become the first Hokage, leader of the Senju clan. He had to be good.

"There's some fish in this river, wanna stay for dinner before you run off to wherever it is you live?"

The dark haired boy paused for a second, seemingly to internally weigh up his options before happily nodding.

"Sounds good!"

.

"It's peaceful around here, you know?"

Naruto hummed, taking a chunk out of the fish she'd been cooking over the fire.

Though he'd never actually told her who her parents were, the Third had said her mother was the best cook around. So Naruto had worked damn hard to be as good as her mother, or at least, she hoped she was. It was difficult to gauge, considering she'd never actually tried her mother's cooking. Jiraiya had said it was good, but then again, Jiraiya might have just been taking pity on the poor orphan girl and then throwing up later in the night once she'd gone to bed. For a toad sage, he had a surprisingly tender stomach. But her worries had been put to rest, because Hashirama had happily announced the fish was cooked and seasoned -with what little herbs she could find around the clearing- to perfection.

"I mean, if you're not planning on going anywhere, you could camp here maybe? You'll have the river for food and water and the trees for shelter..." Hashirama trailed, off, looking into the red flames of the camp-fire they'd set up, made up of dry wood so there'd be no smoke trail for any nearby ninjas to follow.

"I could even visit, you know, to keep you company..." The last part of Hashirama's words came out a whisper, and Naruto's heart clenched.

She remembered being all on her own, wanting just one friend, latching onto the first people who showed her kindness. And while Hashirama obviously had his entire clan still with him, that didn't mean he had a friend her age, much like Hinata-chan had once been all on her own, despite being surrounded. Rubbing nervously at the back of her neck, Naruto grinned back at the obviously nervous boy. She wasn't too far from the future sight of Konoha, so maybe sticking around, having a training partner as she fixed her taijutsu, would be a good idea?

"I think I will, as long as it stays peaceful, I mean."

"Awesome! I can come by any time I don't have clan duties, and you can set up a shelter, maybe even in the trees, I'll help you get started!"

And so Naruto spent her sixth day in the past getting to know a little more about Hashirama Senju, finding out that he liked mixed mushroom soup, that'd he'd started wood sculpting -and judging by the cagey expression, it had a little something to do with his wood-release- and he had three brothers. By the time he left for the day, Naruto was sure she;d just made her first friend in this time, and slept easy for the first night since she'd woken up in the past.

* * *

**Sorry it took so long, I've been busy acclimatizing to my new housing, sorting out new stuff and readying for winter.**

**As this goes on, the chapter's contents will start to change, but I needed this one to remain somewhat similar. Only Naruto knows who Hash is now, because she'd just fought a war with the dude, how could she not?**

**Any questions?  
**

**Tsume  
xxx**


	3. Part 1-3

**Bone of Contention  
****Part 1-3**

**_Day 13_**  
October 22nd

.

Sat atop the training log that rested within the centre of the currently in use ground, Senju Tobirama calmly brought his hands together into a lazy tiger seal, dark eyes half-lidded as he watched the three of his brothers train before him.

Currently sporting a twisted ankle that he'd been told not to stand on for the rest of the day by the healers, the white haired boy was not allowed to join in on the daily training if he wanted to be fully recovered by the time he woke up tomorrow. Which saw him in his current predicament.

Seated upon a log and watching as his two younger brothers trained furiously in an attempt to better themselves whilst playing about with his own chakra. He'd spent a good few hours doing nothing but meditating, changing the ratio of spiritual and physical energy just to see the results. In all honestly, he fully expected something good to eventually come of it, perhaps a sudden flux in chakra that would improve his already powerful for his age jutsu? Well, that was the preferred outcome. So far though, all he'd been able to do was lose one handseal from the trail he usually had to complete to perform his most complex water jutsu. Still, that split second of time he'd cut off may one day save his life, so he wasn't going to complain.

His father and clan leader, Butsuma Senju, agreed that it was worth his time to continue looking into the idea, so that's why he was currently sat here instead of going over information for the clan. They had far smarter minds available for that service.

As usual, their father had spared a few hours of his time to run through a set of new katas with them; it'd probably be expected of Hashirama to teach Tobirama tomorrow when he was back on his feet.

Only, Hashirama wasn't blasting through the new moves like he usually would. In fact, Tobirama had seen him stumble once already. He'd counted eight mistakes so far, with one repeated twice over.

Tilting his head to a side, Tobirama considered his brother again, trying to pin down what was so different about him at the moment, why he wasn't quite right today. In fact, reflecting on it, Hashirama hadn't really been focused for a while now. He'd been a lot brighter in personality for the past week, but he'd always had a far off look in his eyes. Every so often, Tobirama had caught his older brother chuckling to himself, or looking wistfully off towards the south. He was distracted, but whatever he was distracted by wasn't effecting his skills in battle. Hell, the reason Tobirama had a sprained ankle was because the two had sparred the previous day and Hashirama had pulled his new move out of nowhere that had been so unexpected that Tobirama hadn't been prepared for the sudden fall he'd experienced. Hence the injured ankle.

So he was clearly thinking on something to do with his training, it just didn't seem to want to work with whatever Butsuma was teaching them. What had he discovered? A new jutsu that he was now working his taijutsu around? It annoyed him, that Hashirama wouldn't confined in him. But Tobirama remained calm, sat back and determine not to push. Because if he did, Hashirama would clam up with a vengeance, refusing to speak on the topic at all if it was that important of a secret to him. Perhaps going so far as to pull out of that odd, depressive aura. How he managed such mood swings, Tobirama had no idea whatsoever, nor did he have any wish whatsoever to find out. If that was the way his brother was, fine. As long as he could still fight at his usual level, Tobirama would remain quiet until such a time it did.

"Hashirama! What is wrong with you today?!"

But apparently, their father would not.

The one day his precious, prodigal son didn't pick everything up right away, he couldn't accept the fact Hashirama was having a bad day. Still though, Tobirama couldn't deny he wasn't curious regarding the reason, regardless of the fact he was doing his best not to look interested in the answer. He failed, as did his two younger brothers.

Looking startled at being called out, Hashirama moved his wide eyes from where they'd been staring at his hands, almost as if they were traitors for not falling into the moves as naturally as they usually did, before he slowly fell out of his fighting stance, a sigh escaping from between his lips.

"I've got a lot on my mind, I'm trying something new out and it's got most of my attention."

Echoing his son with a sigh, but far more frustrated than what Hashirama had shown, Butsuma ran a hand through his hair, lifting up the headband to scratch at the scared skin beneath it.

"Forget it. You're on scouting for the rest of the day. Don't bother showing up till you can get yourself back to normal."

Tobirama frowned, an expression which deepened when Hashirama tried not to look pleased at his latest punishment. His older brother used to hate scouting, would have much rather spent the time training or slacking off with his brothers. Or well, as much as they were allowed to slack off anyway. But now, he seemed almost excited by the idea. Come to think of it, the boy had been volunteering for scouting and the supply run three days ago. What had changed with Hashirama that left him happy enough to leave the compound, whereas before he'd have been against doing so?

Rubbing at his chin, Tobirama frowned. Whatever was going on there, it clearly wasn't a problem considering the fact Hashirama had put him down on the floor so quickly yesterday. If it were a problem, then Hashirama would have told them by now. As such, Tobirama would wait for his older brother to open up.

With those thoughts in mind, Tobirama turned his attention back to his chakra, read to focus on his own training.

.

* * *

Naruto had spent just over a week in her new living accommodations when Hashirama popped up once again.

So far, since the day they'd met, he'd been able to stop by twice between clan duties, and this would mark the third time. Between the knowledge on wilderness survival -some of her idea's had been a bit futuristic, and Hashirama had given her an odd look before mentioning that he had no idea what this or that was- they'd been able to craft a cosy little den beneath the roots of a rather grand tree for her to shelter in.

What Naruto hadn't been telling her new friend was that she'd been summoning up shadow clones on the days he wasn't here and having them build a rather grand treehouse up above her current den, which would leave her feeling more secure than just remaining so close to ground level. True, she'd slept in worse places than her little den, like alleyways and unfriendly orphanages. There was always the sounds of nature surrounding her, which left her in a near state of constant bliss; it was so much better than the deadly silence of the battlefield before the enemy attacked. Naruto was truly grateful for that.

Still though, she couldn't wait to see Hashirama's face when she showed him the treehouse, no doubt it'd be more impressive than her current little den, and she couldn't wait to boggle his mind, leaving him to wonder just how she'd created such a masterpiece so quickly.

Cackling silently to herself, Naruto got to her feet and began warming up for another day of training, determined to whip this useless body back up to her usual standard.

.

When Hashirama finally showed up again, Naruto was in the process of inverse sit ups, clinging to a tree branch with her legs, slowly curling her shoulders up to meet her knees and then lowering herself back down at an equally lazy place. She was somewhere in the three hundreds regarding how many reps she'd done, and the steady burning in her abdominal muscles let her know that she was getting a good workout. With the incredible healing rate that Kurama allowed her, her muscles recovered much quicker, but that also meant she had to push herself that much harder to improve, to get the muscles burning. She'd been up since before dawn had broken across the tree-line, since the birds had begun singing to welcome in the new day as the sunlight lit up the river-surface, as if thousands of little stars were hidden beneath its current.

It was as she was coiling back up into another sit up that she heard the snap of a branch, Hashirama alerting her to the fact it was him approaching. She'd been able to sense his chakra, but not with the ease she'd enjoyed before her jaunt into the past. Not from the usual distance either, she'd already run ten times her maximum sensing distance this morning as a warm up, so she'd have to focus on improving on that front as well.

"Naruto? You nearly done?" Hashirama had skidded to a stop in the clearing, his head having whipped back and forth before he'd spotted her hanging from a branch. The dark haired boy was rubbing nervously at the back of his neck, a sheepish grin stretching across his face and Naruto couldn't help herself, she grinned back.

Who knew Hashirama Senju was such a cute kid? True, she'd only fought alongside his adult self in battle, but it didn't change the fact she'd not gotten the best of reads on his full personality. Yet, they were the reincarnation of the same spirit, so it was understandable they were equally optimistic and friendly. It made Naruto grin, she liked Hashirama. He was a brilliant bundle of fun and happiness, he hadn't been tainted by the war that followed in every ninja's footstep right now. And she'd enjoy it while it lasted.

Flipping backwards, Naruto twisted in the air, landing in an improvised roll before straightening up at the edge of the riverbed, right before her current sparring partner. Said partner was amused by her antics, but never impressed. He could probably do such a move himself, he was the first Hokage after all. And that just made Naruto want to show off some more, because hell. This was Hashirama Senju, he'd become the first Hokage someday. And she planned to be there when the Leaf was made, and the first steps to peace taken. She planned to push for even more peace, for the tailed beasts to not be split apart like prizes, a gift for going along with the ideal of peace, only to be used as a weapon. Hopefully, she'd get to stop that.

"I just gotta run through my stretches, then I'm good to go." Slipping into a double stretch, one that pulled at both her calf and shoulder muscles, Naruto watched Hashirama as the boy's dark eyes assessed her stance. It was only a momentary pause, but he copied her, settling beside her stationary form and mirroring her every movement. While he couldn't quite stretch as far as what she could, he did come close.

"Do you even have any bones in there, or do they just liquefy when you need them to?" Hashirama asked with a huge grin, copying her shift in weight to the other foot perfectly, despite the precarious position this left him in regarding his balance.

"Nah, though that would be pretty useful.. Only if they turn solid again though. Otherwise I'd be in trouble."

Hashirama snorted, accidentally throwing himself off balance and landing with a thump on the ground.

Naruto smirked, falling out of her final stance and offering the boy a hand to help him up. It was very different compared to when she'd been working with Sasuke, who would have just sneered at her hand and got to his feet himself, no doubt embarrassed at falling over. Hashirama just laughed it off, easily accepting her help without even an ounce of hesitation.

"Hey Naruto, there's a town about half a day's travel from here. It's where most of the clans nearby go for missions, we all usually have someone there that'll take mission offers and every few days someone from the clan will go and pick them all up. But there's one guy that just takes mission requests from the locals, maybe you could earn some money that way?"

Some ninja work? Naruto tilted her head to a side, considering. True, money could only help at this point, and while she could live off the land forever, having some of the local currency would probably be a good idea.

"Sure, lead the way."

.

Shōkessai was a reasonably small settlement alongside the river that was, as Hashirama had said, a day's walk away from where Naruto was currently staying. It wasn't too hard to find, and thanks to its location upon the river, all she had to do was follow the body of water to and from her little den/in progress treehouse. And though she wasn't sure if the village had survived the test of time, having never passed through the settlement with Jiraiya while she was travelling, or spent time there while she was part of Kakashi's cute little genin team, that didn't mean she couldn't appreciate it while it she was here.

In fact, if she'd visited a place again, she'd no doubt find herself confused, unsure of where to go and expecting things to be there that wouldn't be built for years.

Lugging her pack up a bit higher until the heavy bundle came to rest in the slight dip that was the curve of her back, Naruto swore the first thing she'd be buying was ink and a scroll. It was so irritating to have to lug everything around with her, for fear of having it all stolen. A storage scroll would certainly help with that. Hashirama was right, she did need some money. Even if she owned so little it could all fit into a pack, that didn't make it weigh any less.

Hashirama, it seemed, had packed next to nothing when he left to join her for the day from wherever his clan was settled for the time being. All he'd brought along was a flask -seeing as clean water was not that hard to find out here- and his kunai pouch. Perhaps when they were heading back to her clearing she'd catch something on the way to cook for a late supper. Hashirama would probably appreciate it.

"So, have you been travelling for a while then?"

Walking alongside her, Hashirama had both his hands lazily swinging beside him as he walked, within easy reaching distance of his kunai pouch. To a civilian, he'd no doubt look like a relaxed, carefree kid. But the trained eye could pick up on the graceful sway of his walk, the calculated way his arms never moved more than a second's of time away from the nearest weapon on his person. Naruto, contrary to what people thought, wasn't stupid. She could read that much of the boy beside her after all.

"A few years. My god-father, the wondering toad sage, trained me. We visited a good few countries; the Land of Lightning had some interesting wildlife."

That was one way of describing the island she'd trained with Kurama's chakra on.

"But the Land of Fire is my home. I was born here, I can't really picture living anywhere else now."

Hashirama hummed. He'd come closer at some point while they were talking, clearly pleased to see that she was opening up, even if only a little bit. She could understand, sort of. Every ninja alive right now wouldn't dare to trust anyone outside of the clan, and she was just that. An outsider. She wasn't a member of the Senju clan, and she had no plans to join the Uzumaki. While they were related to her, they settled in Whirlpool. Naruto honestly couldn't imagine living anywhere other than the Land of Fire, in Konoha. It was her home, and she would wait for it to return, even if she had to help build it. Home by home.

"It'd be nice to have a home though, somewhere to return to... Do you not get tired of moving around all the time with your clan? Not having anywhere to really call home?"

Hashirama blinked, looking somewhat startled by the question before he gave a low shrug.

"I've never really known anything else?"

"But wouldn't it be great though," Naruto elbowed the boy gently in the side, grinning wildly as she did so. Might as well plant the idea now. "Like, a village, where all the clans got along and worked together. Then there'd be no more fighting if they all came to an agreement. It could be the first step towards peace! And that's what the Pervy-Sage wanted!" Naruto grinned at the thought of Jiraiya, because he would be reborn again. Hopefully in a better Leaf village, one that hadn't seen war. Only, only, she'd be the older one.

Naruto almost tripped over her own feet.

Dear lord, by the times things had run their course, she was going to be older than the Pervy-Sage! Older than Tsunade! Kurama help her, she was going to be the baa-chan this time around. What an awful thought.

Looking over at the thoughtful face of the first Hokage, Naruto forced herself not to cackle at her brilliant idea once she'd pushed the previous vomit inducing thought away. She'd got him thinking. Good, that's exactly what needed to happen.

"But what can you do? You're just a kid."

The words strung. Because Hashirama was right. She was just a kid right now. But she wouldn't be forever.

"Well everyone has to start small. Peace isn't going to be built in a day, but we can keep heading for it. I might be a kid now, but I'll grow up someday. I can make friendships now, and they'll hopefully still stand in years to come. I mean, if you join me in this dream, that's two people. And if we both reach out to someone else, that's four. And it can just keep spreading. Everything has to start somewhere, right?" Looking up at the sky, Naruto gave a whimsical smile, hands resting behind her head as she enjoyed the mid autumn sunshine.

"I guess so."

.

It was ten minutes before they arrived at the town that saw Naruto and Hashirama fall into a contest. Leaping between the tree branches, the two of them were pulling off more and more elaborate jumps, twists and flips. Landing her three twist, triple back flip, Naruto gave a huff of annoyance as Hashirama copied her, but with four twists instead of three. She could match that, but not top that. Not without a boost from a clone. Instead, she completed the same move but with an extra flip, using chakra to slide under the thick branch she would have landed on, and then throw herself up from the other side.

"That's cheating!" Hashirama cried, but was betrayed by his rather large smile, to which Naruto just laughed.

"We're ninja, we're suppose to cheat to win."

Frowning, the Senju boy glared back at her for a moment, until he rolled his eyes and nodded his head. Naruto's cheeks has lifted rather high throughout the entire competition, it had just been so long since she'd been able to hold such a smile on her face, so carefree that she felt the emotion might split her cheeks. She hadn't really had a chance to loosen up, to really enjoy herself in such a long time. All it'd been was training, training to save Sasuke, training to defeat Akatsuki, training to survive the war, training to give Obito, then Madara, then Kaguya a royal beat down. And then, this happened. Just as she'd beaten all the bad guys, just as it was finally approaching the time to relax, to enjoy a peaceful life in the Leaf, with all her friends back, with Sasuke-teme back, this had happened. She hadn't even gotten a chance to sort out their problems, to really cement their friendship. Would probably never get to see her head on the Hokage mountain, because there was no mountain at the moment.

Then, Naruto almost felt the need to hit herself repeatedly over the head. She should have sent a clone to check on the future sight of her much beloved village!

Bringing her hands together in a cross seal, Naruto whispered the name of her most used, most favoured jutsu beneath her breath, watching as a single clone popped into existence beside her. The double didn't even offer her a look, instead leaping back in the direction they'd been travelling from. She'd given it more than enough chakra to make it to the mountain, and it'd be popping after it got the information she needed anyway.

It wasn't until she turned back to Hashirama that she realized something was wrong. He had actually stopped, staring with an open mouth at the space the clone had just left through, several leaves having fluttered to the floor with the disruption.

Naruto actually had an epiphany, and she once again wanted to hit herself. Of all her jutsu, after Rasengan, this was the one she'd actually researched the origins of. The second Hokage had been the one to invent that jutsu. The second Hokage who couldn't be any older than what she was right now. Well damn.

As if to back up her sudden realization, Hashirama finally found his voice.

"That clone was solid; what kind of jutsu was that?"

Rubbing sheepishly at the back of her neck, Naruto turned away from the boy, looking back in the direction they'd actually been heading. What to do, what to do? Let her mysterious sensei have the credit? But then other's would have heard of it before. Well, nothing for it really.

"It's called Shadow Clone Jutsu. I can't do regular clones, I've got way too much chakra. So I use this one instead." There, not technically a lie told in that. Because Naruto couldn't lie for the life of her, not about the important things anyway. Oh, if it was for a prank her tongue might as well be made of silver, but something like this? Nope, not a dishonest bone in her body right now.

"Oh, that's kinda cool. Where's it going?" Hashirama had stumbled up beside her, the two of them casually walking alongside one another now, heading towards Shōkessai once again.

"To search for a big mountain, that was near where the Pervy-Sage lived before he started wandering."

"Oh! I know that mountain! It's huge, like a cliff-face and super awesome! My brother-" Hashirama suddenly cut off, bright, worried eyes darting over to look at her. Almost as if he'd said, or was going to say, something she wasn't suppose to hear.

So Naruto just stared back, waiting for him to either elaborate or change the subject.

"We did a vertical wall climbing challenge on it." Oh, so he wasn't suppose to mention his brother, but now that it'd happened, he was just going to plod on? Well, Naruto wasn't going to play investigator, not now anyway.

"Did you win though?"

Clearly happy that she hadn't asked for more details, either on his training routine or his family, Hashirama smiled.

"Yeah, I did."

.

Shōkessai was a town that consisted of a multitude of hastily built homes, none of which were in the best of conditions. The main source of trade however, seemed to come from ninja, who cared little for appearance and more for practicality. It was clear from the wears; no descript clothing, training weight and weapons. Without doubt aimed at ninjas. Hell, there was even one store selling ingredients that could be made into poisons.

Some travellers were walking by, and Naruto could pick out the few that were ninja. They forced themselves to walk without their trained grace, but Jiraiya had taught her how to pick them out. How to see the minute twitching in some muscles, the calluses that rested on fingers and thumbs, how every step was perfectly calculated to seem normal. It would seem that this place wasn't infested with bandits, but only because the rogue ninja that ran the show behind the scenes. No doubt they'd picked up the different jutsus on their own, or they were the bastard offspring of one reckless clan member or another. Naruto knew what to look for, she could see why no one else had noticed.

Obviously the major clans didn't realize that there were people running this town because they sent rookies, people who wouldn't be considered a big loss of skill to pick up their missions. They wouldn't notice all the signs around them. The poverty that clung to the civilians that lived here, those not associated with the rogue group of ninja running this town, or the ones that passed missions onto the big clans. And the civilians wouldn't dare speak up, for fear of their homes being burnt down. They couldn't contact a big clan to sort out the rouges either, because the contacts worked with them. It was one big cycle of viciousness, and Naruto would not be standing for it.

"Hash," Naruto whispered, watching from the corner of her eye as the boy in question snapped to attention, eyes glittering with questions, "this town's not safe. There's rouges running it. I've seen it before."

It was Gatō all over again, and she'd cleaned out her fair share of towns with Jiraiya too. She was not going to let this stand, not at all.

Hashirama's eyes sharpened, though he didn't take her words and face value. instead, he took a good look around, noticing some people moved too gracefully, some cringed away from others. Children that mother's huddled into their arms as they walked down the streets, men sneering as they passed them by. Hashirama's brow crinkled and his previously joyous smile dropped in despair.

"I say we find a civilian, a real one, and get some information," Naruto whispered, blood boiling beneath her skin. She hated this, hated that no one seemed to have noticed. If it wasn't for her, would anyone have seen it? Or would this problem remain till it ate everything this town had? She didn't want to think about it.

Hashirama ran a stressed hand through his hair, scowling as he did so.

Uncapping her water bottle, Naruto offered it up to the boy, well aware he was already out of his own, and neither of them had stopped to refill yet. Wiping at his mouth after taking a swig of the water, Hashirama grinned at the girl beside him, handing back the half empty carton.

"That's a good plan. I like that plan."

.

It wasn't difficult to locate a child, locating a child that was obviously not being put through ninja training was only the tiniest bit harder. To get the boy to take them to his home, probably so used to being bullied into something that he was more than happy to comply with the first people to show him some form of kindness.

They were led to a small butchers shop, one side of which looking like it had hastily been rebuilt after a fire. So if people didn't pay what were probably ridiculous taxes, then they got their homes attacked? Oh, Naruto was burning with anger, hands clenched at her sides and metaphorical steam pluming from her ears.

The boy's parents were talking to a shady looking character, who at the sight of them, gave a small nod to the couple before leaving the building. Naruto kept track of the chakra, but the man was genuine in his desire to leave apparently. Hopefully not going to go and get reinforcements. Nothing about the two of them really screamed ninja at the moment, not since the two of them had hidden their kunai pouches in Naruto's bag for now.

"What can I get for you kids? I've got some new beef-"

"They're gone."

The woman visibly sighed in relief and Naruto gave a grim smile, forcing her fingers to uncoil and allow the crescent moon shaped cuts her fingernails had made in the flesh of her palm to heal over.

"How do you know?" The husband was clearly a bit more cautious, shuffling his six year old son behind him, dark eyes narrowed on their forms.

"I'm a sensor, my area isn't great, but I know they're certainly not in hearing distance right now. They're ruining this town, right? When did it start?"

Hashirama's head snapped around to look at her. Naruto wasn't sure what he'd been expecting, but this head forwards approach clearly wasn't it. Not that she really cared. Word games, dancing around the topic, that really wasn't her style. Throwing people off their game, doing the one thing they didn't expect, yeah, that was more her.

"Excuse me?" The butcher didn't seem to believe it either.

"I'm gonna get rid of them, because if there's one thing I hate it's people who abuse their power, but I need to know how good their foothold here is."

"My friend is right."

Suddenly, Hashirama was the epitome of the professional shinobi, posture straight, eyes hard and unforgiving. The transformation was so quick Naruto almost stared. Almost.

"But-"

"I assure you sir, we are both very skilled. I am the strongest ninja of my generation within the clan, and my friend here can match me blow for blow." Oh, that was good. By referring to his clan as he had, Hashirama had implied that Naruto was with them, but not outright stated it.

"And which clan are you associated with then?" The butcher had folded his arms now, frowning as he did so. She could see Hashirama hesitate out of the corner of her eyes and Naruto grimaced slightly. They were close to getting their information, she couldn't let Hashirama's hesitation in regards to revealing his clan.

"The Uzumaki clan."

It clearly took everything he had not to start staring at her, if the way Hashirama tensed was anything to go by.

"You mean the sealing one?"

Naruto nodded folding her arms across her chest.

"But don't they all have red hair?"

"My dad's not an Uzumaki, neither is Hash's. We're kind of outcasts really, but too good for the clan to give up. That's why they let the two of us travel alone after all."

The butcher nodded, dark brown eyes seemed to consider them again before he finally nodded.

"Okay then. I'll tell you all that I can."

.

The two of them walked away from the butchers store with a leg of chicken each, thanks to the modest amount of coins that Hashirama had found in his pocket. Naruto's head was spinning with information and she rubbed wearily at the back of her head, the cooked leg of meat easily giving way beneath her sharp teeth.

As they turned the corner though, Hashirama pinned her up against the wall, a serious frown on his face.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?! You don't just go throwing clan names out like that! They wouldn't hurt me too much, not with our clans allied like they are, but you're on your own! You can't just use their name like that!" Snorting, Naruto patted the boy's arm, feeling somewhat touched he was worried for her.

"My mum was an Uzumaki. He asked which clan I was associated with, I answered truthfully. Uzumaki, from my mums' side. Not that I've ever met any of them. She died just before my dad. Anyway, we'll clean the town of this problem, and then the Uzumaki clan won't care, because even if they didn't do it, they'll still get a reputation boost from the fact people have heard them associated with such a good deed. No problem."

Hashirama frowned, seemingly only half convinced. It was so different from his normal behaviour, all this talk on clan reputation and being killed for a slight. A stone settled in Naruto's stomach.

Hashirama was a clan heir. She'd known it already, she'd seen this kind of attitude form Kiba. He was, had been, a fun loving guy. Until clan matters were slapped down on the table top, then there were no time for jokes, not when it came to family safety.

It almost made Naruto jealous, to think people looked out for one another like this. She'd never really had that, had always seemed to be on her own from the start. Only Jiraiya, the only person she'd ever opened up to one hundred percent. Though she claimed all of the Leaf village as her family, claimed Kurama as a family and was willing to die for them, she wasn't too sure it was the same thing.

However, there was a more pressing matter.

Would Hashirama ever sell her out to his clan? She wanted to say no, he hadn't done it already after all. But he didn't know she was a well of -at this moment in time- untapped power. He just saw a girl is age that was reasonably skilled at the ninja arts. Not a Jinchuriki. He didn't know about that, not yet. If he did, she didn't doubt that he'd tell his clan, and she wouldn't blame him for it. From his point of view, she'd be a danger. And then she'd have the entire Senju clan after her. That was not something she wanted to be facing. Not yet, not without the frog contract -which no longer worked for her-, not without sage mode and certainly not without Kurama's chakra. As long as she didn't seem too strong, she doubted he'd sell her out.

That would just have to be her safety net for now.

* * *

Scowling from where he was settled in the shade of a grand oak tree, Izuna Uchiha let out a long, low sigh. He'd been sent off to gather some more supplies for the clan, to pick up their groceries from their usual supplier in Shōkessai. He never got to do anything of importance, not any serious training with his big brother, no learning about clan secrets, and certainly not planning to capture this girl that could apparently seal the Bijū into people.

No, he was stuck fetching the clan more potatoes. The only good thing about it was that his cousin Surudoi was here too.

Surudoi, despite being two years older than Madara, was only on the same skill level as Izuna. And while this sung praises for the younger boy, it clearly wasn't enough to get him in on the important stuff. Surudoi was not a particularly talented warrior, but he'd survived his share of battles. The scar that ran down his jaw line showed that. He was rather lucky, having gotten away from an enemy nin at the age of six with nothing but a scar. Yet, he hadn't awakened his Sharingan. Most of the elders -the one's that made it to that age anyway, which was a grand total of three- had written the boy off, deciding he'd be making up the quarter of the clan that never awoken their bloodline limit.

Izuna couldn't imagine being wrote off like that, and vowed he'd awaken the brilliant red eyes of his clan if it were the last thing he ever did.

Now, with three storage scrolls under his belt, filled to the brim with all sorts of food stuff, Izuna was bored. He didn't want to go back to the clan just yet, not so that he could just get shuffled away from the important things. Stuff he wasn't old enough to hear, or talented enough to be included in the talk.

A hand on his shoulder had Izuna leaving his thoughts, looking up into Surudoi's dark eyes, set in a worried looking face.

"Surudoi?"

"There's a fight, just left of here."

The one thing that his cousin had going for him was his abilities as a sensor, which were above par for his age. The only thing above par, but it was still quite helpful. Between the two of them, Izuna was the fighter, and Surudoi was the one to keep him away from the fights. No doubt Madara had a hand in Surudoi being sent with him, ever since the second death of one of their brothers, the older boy had always had a hint of worry in his features whenever Izuna told him he has a mission. Even if it was just little things like this. Barely any danger involved at all.

"Let's go have a look."

Apparently, Surudoi was as bored as he was, for the teen nodded, gesturing for Izuna to follow after him. Pulling at his chakra until it was tightly bound, hidden from those unless they were familiar or an exceptionally good sensor, the younger Uchiha bounced after his cousin, leaping into the treetops.

.

Crouching low in the woods, Izuna let his dark eyes rove over the clearing, taking in everything before him. The fight was unlike anything he'd ever seen before.

Either there was a mother out there that could proudly proclaim she'd birthed twenty identical children, or this was some new type of clone. He was leaning towards the latter option.

Two kids, judging by the age difference between all the participants, against a collection of ninja, clan-less or the rejects. Both kids couldn't be any older than Surudoi, but neither were they younger than Izuna. Somewhere between perhaps? Madara-nii had taught him all about not rushing in, to stay back and observe the situation, so that was what Izuna was going to do. The two were good, he could tell that much already. But the boy only seemed to be using taijutsu, so much so that it appeared he was almost purposely avoiding ninjutsu.

Confusion swept over Izuna, because surely the fight would have been much easier, over much quicker, if he was to use it. But, it only took him a moment to realize why when he caught sight of a flash of blonde as fire raced past the second figure. Or well, one of the second figure's clones.

The girl was the answer.

Well, he assumed it was a girl, but Izuna wasn't completely sure. What with the shortly cropped blonde hair. Regardless, looking at the two, their colouring, it was clear that they weren't related, and thus, there was a high chance they weren't form the same clan. Not that it really mattered. They were both fighting the same opponent.

Maybe whatever job they'd gotten had overlapped and they'd decided to work together to complete it quicker? They certainly did work well together, moving in a smooth flow of limbs, observing one another's moves and adjusting accordingly, clearly in sync with one another.

They were good, both of them. Maybe as good as Madara-nii, which meant the two of them would only get better with time.

"Who are they?" Surudoi's voice came from the left and Izuna grit his teeth, lips pulling down into a frown at the question. He didn't need to hear what Surudoi was actually thinking. If they both went down there, they'd get killed. These two were better than they were. Outmatched them in every way, skill, strength, speed.

Izuna wasn't stupid enough to see if their luck was greater than the two strangers.

"I don't know, but I don't think they're form the same clan."

.

It was only after all the enemy ninja had been taken down by the two kids that Izuna realized he was wrong.

The two most certainly knew each other, because the girl, and he was almost certain it was a girl now, bounced up and over to her friend, holding up her hand with her palm flat. The boy slapped his own against it in some form of celebratory gesture before they began liberating their enemies of anything useful. The girl had whooped loudly enough that it had startled the two Uchiha, who watched her surface with a bag of sweets -a rare find during these times- from one ninja. She split them evenly with the boy.

Yeah, they without doubt knew each other well before this fight.

"We should report this back to your father Izuna-kun," Surudoi whispered, still crouched low beside him, nervous black eyes flickering to and from the strange, victorious ninjas, "if they're clan-less they won't be much of a threat. But if one of them is a clan kid, and the other was taken into that clan, they could grow up to be a problem."

Izuna agreed. It was quite possible one of them was being set up to marry the other by their respective clans, only Izuna had never seen a clan with that shade of blonde hair before. Regardless, it didn't matter. With how strong the two were, they were a good match for one another.

"Let's go then," Izuna replied, turning on his heels and silently leaving the branch they'd spent the past two minutes sat on, observing.

There was a good deal on his mind now, and he hoped that he hadn't missed any important information. Or that he wouldn't forget anything while he was heading home.

Things would be so much easier if he already had his Sharingan.

* * *

**I'm sorry this took so long. I've been sat with this doccument open for ages, but in all honesty, I forgot about it. But here you go, big chapter is big. **

**Any questions?  
**

**Tsume  
xxx**


	4. Part 1-4

**Bone of Contention  
****Part 1-4**

**_Day 18_**  
October 27th

.

"I, I don't understand."

Hashirama tilted his head to a side, confusion evident on his face and mentally agreeing with his younger brother's question. Was it possible to seal something like the Nine-tails? You know, without being the Sage of the Six Paths? It was the kind of thing that was spoke of only in legends, it held no place in the outside world, that kind of power was not suppose to be possible. It would be far too easy to abuse, to take it and twist until something impure and corrupt was born.

In front of the Senju brothers, Butsuma let out a low sigh, a callous hand reaching up to run scarred fingers through his hair as the other curled around the cup of tea placed upon the table. The thin, delicate china looked out of place in his father's rough hands, hands that'd taken so many lives they may as well have been bathed in blood. Like a flower held in the paws of a lion.

"One of our own overheard a few villagers talking on their way back from a mission. They weren't able to catch much without exposing themselves, but what they did managed to find out was that a child has managed to seal the Nine-Tails. And though we will be taking the words of civilians with a pinch of salt, I want the four of you to be careful in regards to this."

Considering the information that he'd just been presented with, Hashirama gave a small nod of acknowledgement to let his father know he'd be taking the warning into consideration for everything he did from here on out. He'd be more cautious whenever he left the compound now, he'd look over his shoulder thrice instead of the usual twice.

But he did have to let Naruto know about this. There was no one to warn the girl about this very real, very dangerous threat. If this kid that'd sealed the Nine-Tails was running free, well, Hashirama didn't want to know what he had planned for the Bijū he'd managed to seal into himself. That kind of power, if Naruto said the wrong thing, made a mistake near someone that unstable...

He didn't want to think on that, didn't want to think on the possibility of Naruto running into such a beast of a ninja. She was strong, but she was not strong enough to stand against a Bijū. No one was.

Swallowing down the lump that seemed to have grown in his throat, Hashirama ran a hand through his ruffled hair, allowing the stressed sigh to escape from between his lips.

It was all getting so much more difficult to deal with, the world continued spinning on even though he'd been tripped up and now he was being left behind. His thoughts differed than to what they had been but a month ago. His perception of the world had been challenged, Naruto had challenged his way of life, the way of clan life by just being there. The fact she was out there right now, surviving on her own without the support of a clan went against everything he'd ever been told.

Every clan child had it drilled into them, imprinted within their very being, that they would not survive without the clan. They shouldn't run away, because a runaway child was a dead child. The enemy wouldn't care if they had left the clan, they had the life blood of the clan running through their veins and that would make them a target of every enemy they came across, personal relations or not.

So what was Naruto? How was she managing al by herself? She herself had confessed to an Uzumaki mother, but the woman had died just before her father, and Hashirama was pretty sure that'd happened incredibly early in Naruto's life. She had stated that she had never met any of the Uzumaki, so it was obvious that she wasn't a clan child.

Trained by a wandering toad sage. Naruto could look after herself, but was she telling the truth about her father? If her mother was an Uzumaki, she would have the Uzumaki colouring, which meant Naruto's own sunny complexion was from her father.

Yet, no matter how hard he thought, how far back he reached into the recesses of his brain, only two clans with an abundance of blonds came to mind.

There were the Yamanakas, a clan who specialized in mind reading and other such related arts. But the colouring was wrong, their shades too light for Naruto to have been spawned from them. No, his friends chakra was far too vast in comparison to that clan's slightly below average reserves. That, and Naruto was a heavy hitter, a front line fighter well versed in a physical spar and ninjutsu too. The Yamanaka were known for sticking to the backlines, working together with the Nara and Akimichi clan in order to capture their opponent. Naruto was on the other side of the spectrum to that clan

Then, there were the clan of bombers that were from Stone country. but Hashirama remembered Naruto saying she'd had a confrontation with them just before they'd met. And while it was possible that they'd been trying to retrieve Naruto, a runaway child, Hashirama was sure that wasn't the case. Naruto didn't have the vibe of a liar, there was just something incredibly trusting about her. But he'd check the clan records, just in case.

"Hashirama, are you even listening to me?"

Head snapping up, the brunet flinched slightly at the disapproving look in his father's eyes, trying to ignore the concerned glances that his brothers exchanged between themselves before levelling their worried stares upon him. This was, after all, the second time in a week that he'd not given his father all of his attention, and he knew for sure that no matter what he said he wouldn't be getting out of trouble with only a warning this time.

"I'm sorry, I'm still kind of stuck on something. My apologies Father." He trailed off, well aware that the excuse had worn thin the first time he'd used it. It had still been worth trying though, even if his father's nostrils were currently flaring, though no words left his mouth.

Still, his intentions were clear when the three younger Senju brothers were dismissed, leaving only Hashirama in the room.

This couldn't be good.

.

When Hashirama found the oldest of his fellow siblings again, there was a rather prominent bruise casting a shadow across the left hand side of his face. Considering the fact Tobirama actually winced when he first caught sight of it, Hashirama was pretty sure it looked worse than it felt. And it felt bad. Only an hour had passed since he'd been struck, so no doubt what was currently a light purple bruise would swell and darken as time went on.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine Tobi." Scratching at the back of his neck and mindful of his swollen cheek, Hashirama dropped to the ground as a breath of air left from between his lips. The worn earth was still warm beneath his limbs, clinging to the very last of the autumn heat. Though considering that their current location was deep within the heart of Fire Country, the heat surrounding them would be considered summer warmth in any other country.

"The Bakugō Clan?" Tobirama was leaning over his shoulder, reading the scroll that Hashirama had just retrieved from the library.

"Why are you reading about those explosive nuts?" His silver haired brother, the spitting image of their mother in every physical feature, flopped down beside him on the soft grass, sprawling out in an almost boneless manner.

The injured ankle had long since healed, but Hashirama still felt a bit guilty for having caused it. They just been sparring and then suddenly there was an opening for one of Naruto's favourite moves that he just couldn't ignore. He hadn't stopped to think that Tobirama would be able to combat a move he'd never seen before, that it wasn't a very durable Naruto he was sparring with.

It was lucky Tobirama had managed to move his leg so that he'd only come away with a twisted ankle, Hashirama was pretty sure that had the move hit like he'd intended it to a shin bone would have been broken instead of the sprained ankle that Tobirama got off with.

Scanning through the words, but unable to find anything regarding their physical features other than blond hair and typically blue or green eyes, Hashirama rolled the scroll back up again, pocketing it and making a mental note to return it to the clan archives.

"I ran into a girl when I was on patrol the other day."

Now Tobirama perked up, his attention quite clearly caught as the dark, curious eyes landed on him. As if searching for a fault, or interesting titbit of information in his words. It was true what he said, he had run into Naruto a few days back, even if it had been a meeting he'd personally gone out of his way to create.

It wasn't like he was lying, just omitting when it was he'd met the girl. He had run into her after all, having not noticed when the girl had swerved to a stop in their footrace and he'd ploughed right into her.

"And?"

"And I think she was running away from that clan. Whether she was a part of it, or did something to wrong them, I'm not sure." He couldn't picture Naruto doing that, but then again the both of them were ninja. It would be wrong of him to just full out accept Naruto, regardless of the good feeling she gave off, of the warm fuzzies that seemed to emit from her in waves. Being a ninja, was after all, about looking underneath the surface after all.

He'd remain cautious of the blond for now, no matter how brilliant a sparring partner she was, or how friendly she seemed. It wouldn't hurt anything for him to be cautious.

Picking the dirt out from his nail-beds, Hashirama sighed lightly, trying to ignore the weight that seemed to have set its nest up in his stomach.

"Well, as long as she was just passing through, then she's not our problem."

"Right, not our problem," he repeated, grimacing when the squirming mass in his stomach happily identified itself as guilt.

* * *

**_Day 19_**  
October 28th

.

Stretching both arms above her head and rotating the limbs about in their joints until she heard the satisfying clicks of her body, Naruto hopped impatiently from one foot to the other, scowling as she did so. Surrounding her in the clearing, seven clones stared back with the same brilliant blue eyes and determined grin, ready and eager to start sparring.

It'd been just under a week since she had last seen Hashirama, and there was only so much seclusion that a girl could take before she left the relatively safety of that state of mind known as sanity. Just this morning she'd been playing with the idea of starting a game of tag between her clones.

She'd just never been this bored before. There'd always been something to do, plants to water, friends to talk to, an Ero-sennin to pull out of brothels.

Now all there was to do was train, because her own friend in this time period could only get so much time away from his clan before they became suspicious. And Naruto wouldn't let Kurama be used as a weapon, which is what would happen should they find out she was the Jinchuriki. As lonely as she was, she wasn't ready to go looking for more people and risk such a thing happening.

So instead she trained, attempted to keep the boredom at bay by scouting the surrounding area, the future site that Konoha would stand upon. It wasn't that long a trip, and sometimes Naruto would climb up the mountain face and just stare out at the endless forest that seemed to cover the place.

She'd trace the landscape with her eyes, trying to remember how Konoha had looked before Pein's invasion, before everything went wrong.

The reason behind her training was obvious. Even though she'd done okay in her fight alongside Hashirama, it didn't change the fact that her muscle memory was out. Any and all the taijutsu she'd known after the Chũnin exams was gone. And even then it was questionable if she'd land the hit. Her brain said her arms were longer, her legs stronger, than what they actually were.

And the only way to get around such a problem was to train and train so more.

Oh, she could remember the moves, but getting them to work in unison with her now much shorter limbs was almost impossible. This body appeared to have just had its eleventh birthday, so she had the time to grow into her moveset, and for a moment, she paused, wondering just when Hashirama's birthday was.

But the thought past quickly, because there was something more worrisome.

Black Zetsu.

He had ruined everything, every possible opportunity of peace between Uchiha and Senju, all in a desperate attempt to revive Kaguya. She needed to be strong enough to stop him, something that was going to be made even more difficult this time around considering she didn't have Sasuke to back up now.

The clone off to the side gave the signal and Naruto dashed forwards, renewed determination coursing through her body as she forced all her limbs into one of the katas she knew, forced the muscles to accept this new form.

Meanwhile, her mind began to slip elsewhere, only subconsciously focused on sparring.

Perhaps the most worrying thing so far though was that she'd been unable to contact Kurama. Slipping into her mindscape had become surprisingly difficult, and each time she went to meditate what she was really doing was just sitting on the floor and getting more and more frustrated when it didn't work. His chakra was also completely off limits to her, something that had not happened since she'd first worked with Jiraiya during the Chũnin exams.

There was no joint chakra from their amazing teamwork, there was no pure chakra that she'd taken from him while training with Bee, not even the base form that'd burned red and bubbled with the foxes killer intent was accessible to her now. She couldn't touch any of it, and while the thought of going to look for a strong ninja to fight, to put herself into a life of death situation to tease the chakra out was tempting, Naruto forced herself it resist it.

She had a job to do here, a future to save, and going off and risking such a thing was a sure fire way to completely fail.

She'd keep trying the meditating, it was safer.

Ducking a roundhouse kick that would have smashed into her cheekbone had she not, Naruto took the last clone down in a burst of smoke. The moves were coming back, slowly but surely. She'd just gotten so used to making progress in such amazing leaps and bounds that now that she was having to go back over things and relearn what she already knew, well it left her foaming with vexation.

A low whistle from her clone referee caught Naruto's attention instantly as she snapped her head around to look at the source, grinning when the copy pointed to the boar roasting over the open fire. She'd caught it a half hour ago and left the clone in charge of cooking; it was nice to walk away from a training session and have cooked food ready on demand.

Brushing off the seat of her pants, Naruto made her way over, dispelling the clone once it'd gotten the boar off the fire and put the flames out.

Dinner time.

.

Tearing the succulent meat from the hind leg that was currently in her grasp, Naruto let her teeth slice through the meat. The sharp teeth from being a Jinchuriki were indeed very helpful, and it'd gotten her out of a few tight holds when she was younger and the civilians thought that just because she looked harmless they could try something. Oh, the ANBU had always stopped them, but there's been a few times Naruto had been forced to use her own wits to break free of a hold before they intervened. Back when she'd just been a scared little kid who didn't know what she'd done to deserve the looks. If she had her way, no other child would ever get those looks.

The sound of bushes being forcibly parted had her pausing for a second, sending out a charka probe to find out if the figure approaching was friendly or not. Naruto was reaching for her second leg when the results came back, half a second before Hashirama came stumbling through the undergrowth behind her.

"Hey, I've got some boar left over if you want- What the hell happened to your face!" Shooting to her feet and almost dropping the leg of the boar she'd just been able to bite into, Naruto stormed over to Hashirama's side, feeling her anger flare up deep within her chest.

Thrusting the boar leg at the boy until he caught hold of it with clumsy hands, Naruto took a gentle grip of her friend's chin, twisting his head to a side. Hashirama fought the movement for a second, before seemingly deciding it wasn't worth it and complied, allowing the blonde to get a good look at his left cheek. Or rather, where he cheek used to be.

Now there was a humongous bruise, a bruise that had swollen so much that Hashirama's eye was having trouble opening. The different shades of black, blue and purple weren't exactly the best match to the boy's pale skin either, resulting in a black eye that looked as ugly as sin.

"I got in an argument with my dad," he finally murmured, letting Naruto take his hand and pull him over to the fire pit.

One hand was still curled around the leg of food Naruto had forced upon him, and after a second of consideration, Hashirama took a bite of the meat.

"Sit, eat, then we'll talk." Seeing as she was currently channelling Sakura and Tsunade at their worst, the blonde could understand why her friend made no attempt to disobey those orders. Her friend and Baa-chan were scary after all.

That didn't change the fact that Naruto was glad the boy hadn't tried to fight her. Her heart wouldn't be in it, trying to out-stubborn the boy opposite her who'd clearly ended up on the wrong side of his father's temper.

She knew that things were a bit more wild back in these times, that it was a case of have as many children as possible because it was a certainty that at least one would die before reaching the age of ten. Children weren't as treasured here as what they'd been during her time in Konoha. But that didn't stop Naruto's heart from clenching at the thought.

Should she ever meet Hashirama's father, she certainly have a few choice words for the man.

Watching as Hashirama devoured the boar leg and then looked at her with the most pitiful eyes she'd ever seen, Naruto rolled her own and gestured for the boy to take as much boar as he'd like. She did feel kind of bad over how hungry Hashirama was. He'd clearly skipped out on the first meal of the day to come and meet her. She'd check her surrounding area in every direction for a good distance; Hashirama had to be travelling at least half an hour to come and see her. So really, he deserved some of the food she had cooked. It had nothing to do with the bruise on his face.

"Been training then?" Naruto asked, cocking her head to a side and grinning as the boy looked up from his meal and smiled.

"Yep. I'm getting much stronger now, you better be ready when e spar again because this time, it won't be a tie."

"Damn right it won't, because I'm going to wipe the floor with you! Dattebayo!" Naruto barked out a booming laugh at the end of her statement, watching as Hashirama forcibly swallowed his rather large mouthful of food far too soon in order to begin denying that hubris statement with several different description of how he'd be the one to win their next spar.

"Well, we'll fight when you're better, I don't think I could avoid going for that opening on your left side right now.

"Please, even handicapped I'm more than a match for you!"

.

They lazed around the smouldering remains of Naruto's fire for the next hour or so, just bantering back and forth. Naruto had laid back on the ground, sprawled out with her head twisted to a side to look at Hashirama. If this position meant she couldn't really notice the bruising on his face, then that was surely coincidence. She'd seen all sorts of wounds before, it'd be stupid for the one Hashirama was sporting to make her feel uneased.

That's what she kept telling herself anyway.

But as for Hashirama's father, well the man was damn lucky she wasn't up to her previous level of awesomeness, otherwise she'd have certainly shown him something about picking on someone below your skill level. She'd have crushed him like a bug for what he'd done to Hashirama. And it wouldn't be anything like the nice little talk she'd once given Zabuza.

No way, he wouldn't be getting off that easy.

"Here," Hashirama had pulled something from the bag he'd been carrying over his shoulder, offering up the items with two outstretched hands.

Sitting up, Naruto leaned forward, accepting the training weights that her only friend had brought with him. They were well made, clearly clan quality weights that'd been tailored specifically to a child's body. They'd be perfect for her.

"I snuck them out, you were looking at some of them back in Shōkessai, but the pay for cleaning out the town wasn't enough because you bought that tent so-"

"They're great Hash. Thank you. Now do you wanna run through some drills? I'm pretty sure I've got a good few you haven't." Strapping the weights onto her forearms and them rolling up her trousers to attach them to her shins, Naruto looked up at Hashirama from beneath her eyelashes, watching as the brunet haired boy gave a grin so large not even the bruise could stop the cheer shining through.

So perhaps she was a little eager to help Hashirama forget the fact he looked like his face had been merged with a giant plum, but Jiraiya's drills were quite helpful and good for training. They strengthened all limbs and joints, one drill had them fighting with just their legs while standing on their hands. Oh, it had it's practical applications, but that didn't mean Naruto hadn't thought it was the best thing she'd seen all month when Jiraiya first showed it to her. The memory of watching Ero-sennin flail around while in a half-hearted handstand still brought a smile to her face even now.

Her companion nodded, leaping to his feet and throwing the bones of meal into the fire pit.

"Sure, why not?"

.

Weight now fully supported on the palm of her hands, Naruto adjusted the placement of her fingers, legs twisted above her head to rest just above her skull in the precise handstand she was currently performing. Hashirama was opposite her, mirroring the cool down that she was currently leading after their strange little fight.

Trying to push one another off balance with nothing but their legs while stood on their hands had been just as fun as she remembered, and Hashirama seemed to think so too if his beaming face was any indication.

True the both of them stuck of sweat, and Naruto was well aware that had see not been in the very loose muscle shirt she was currently wearing there would be those unappealing sweat marks beneath her arms. Apparently they hadn't thought of breathable fabric, and her chakra control wasn't fully up to performing that control technique that let someone remain at a comfortable body temperature. That was the only reason Shino and Kiba had been able to prance around the Land of Fire in a heavy coat and leather jacket respectively.

"Someone sealed the Nine Tails!"

Naruto froze for a moment, body wavering slightly before her bright blue eyes slowly removed their gaze from the river to instead rest upon Hashirama, who'd just blurted out those five, startling words. It was clearly something he'd been thinking on for a while, and Naruto grimaced as her stomach flipped uncomfortably.

"What?"

"One of our clan members overheard some villages talking about it on their way back. Someone our age has sealed the Nine Tails."

It was only thanks to years of keeping the secret of her tenant that Naruto didn't freeze up again, instead moving into the next stage of the cool down whilst bouncing ideas around in her head. How should she respond to this? Hashirama would find out it was her eventually, so should she deny it now or dance around the issues? Regardless, she needed to say something to this news, didn't she?

"I- Just be careful Naruto. You haven't got a clan watching your back like I have. Please be careful who you talk to and tangle with? I don't want you getting hurt."

Looking over at the boy who was clearly so concerned for her, Naruto let the smile she felt brewing show, though kept the pain she felt out of it. She felt sick, not telling him the whole truth, not admitting that he was actually asking her to not get in a fight with herself.

But she knew Hashirama would tell his clan, couldn't get around not telling them if she did so. Not when the person they were all worried about was currently leading him through a cool down routine.

"I promise I'll try and stay out of trouble. Now cheer up, because this serious mood is too weird."

.

It was Hashirama's turn to chose what they did next, and the Senju opted to go for a run to the future Hokage mountain, which they would then climb with chakra aided limbs.

There had been banter, they'd teased and taunted one another ruthlessly as the raced up to the top, until they were both stood upon the very edge and calling out their victory, each japing the other as they pointed out one another's imagined flaws on the way up.

The boredom was gone, a distant memory as Naruto watched her only friend in this time period grin back at her, a bead of sweat dripping down the side of his temples and dirt smudged upon his nose.

Yet, Naruto knew it wouldn't last, knew the world would catch up with the both of them eventually.

Plonking herself down on the edge of the cliff face, Naruto ran her tongue across her lips, tasting the humid air that surrounded them. She could sense the storm clouds that would soon be rolling in from the west, and she really did not want to be sleeping in her underground den when that happened. While her treehouse project was coming along, she couldn't get much more done on it until she figured out some way to keep the roof stabilized during strong winds.

Everything would be so much easier if she just had Yamato here to summon a nice little wooden house from the ground. If Hashirama had uncovered his own wood release yet, then he clearly didn't trust her enough to use it for her benefit.

Not when it could be potentially used to track him back to the Senju clan.

"Hash?"

The boy looked up, seemingly having accepted the fact she'd occasionally be addressing him by his newly shortened name every so often.

"There's a storm coming in from the west, and it's going to be a big one. I think I'm going to find somewhere new to weather it out and do a bit of research on some jutsus I've got in the works , so I don't think I'll be back here for another week."

"Alright. Can we spar when you get back?"

"You really want me to put your face in the mud that much then just ask."

Grinning, Hashirama snatched up his bag, taking one last look over the edge of the cliff face before turning in the direction of his home. He paused for a second, but Naruto just waved him off.

"I don't care where you live, so long as you show up in a week's time again."

Sharing a smile, the two parted ways, Naruto heading back down the way she'd come and Hashirama disappearing over the other side of the ledge.

* * *

**_Day 25_**  
November 3rd

.

Branches broke and leaves were misplaced behind him, leaving a very visible, very easy trail to follow but he just couldn't care. Didn't dare stop to cover his tracks because there just wasn't the time.

Ducking to avoid a larger than normal wooden limb that, in his haste, seemed to have appeared before his eyes, Nori Uchiha let out a low, ragged gasp, drawing in another just as quickly in an attempt to regain his breath.

The autumn rain was heavy on his shoulders, leaving the shrubbery flying by him dripping, his wet hair plastered to his face as the constant thumping sound of each droplet impacting upon the earth echoed in his ears. The rain was probably the only reason he hadn't been caught yet, he remembered Madara-nii saying that the rain washed away scent, though it'd been a few years ago that he'd heard this.

Five years old, that would have been how many summers he'd seen when his older brother gave him that lesson on fleeing from the enemy., and he'd not really thought much of it at the time. That was during the age where he'd believed he'd live simply because he was a special Uchiha. He was after all, the youngest brother of Madara Uchiha, genius extraordinaire. He was suppose to follow in his brothers footsteps, have as great a destiny to become an amazingly awesome ninja as his older brother was.

Yet, a scant three years later, here he was, fleeing for his life through the dense forest of Fire Country after a mission gone wrong.

It'd started out nice and easy to begin with, collect a hidden scroll from behind enemy lines and everything was suppose to run smoothly. They just hadn't been informed by the client that there was a clan protecting the scroll, that the Kaguya clan was the one protecting the scroll. There wasn't supposed to be more than a few bandits nearby.

Worst still, the Kaguya had known they were coming right from the start, had tracked them down and picked them off one by one. Now, of the four man team that'd left from the Uchiha stronghold, only Nori was left.

The information had been withheld, this mission had clearly been a set up to take down a few of the Uchiha by an enemy of the clan. It was suppose to have been an easy mission, suppose to have been an easy way to introduce him into the shinobi world in as risk free of an environment as can be provided.

So much for that. He'd laugh if it wasn't for the fact he couldn't breathe, that his lungs burned for a quantity of air he couldn't draw in without stopping.

There was a reason every half decent clan kept tabs on the a select few minor clans that what they did others. The Kaguya was one of those minor clans. Altogether they weren't that outstanding as a clan, but every so often they would be graced with a child possessing an interesting kekkei genkai by the name of Shikotsumyaku. It was because of this kekkei genkai that most clans liked to know whenever a Shikotsumyaku wielder was born, so that they knew who to steer clear of.

The last one known to the various clans had died in battle with the Senju clan, but not before taking out several high levelled ninjas. And now there was another one that could pull his bones out and use them as weapons. Another ninja that used Shikotsumyaku.

And he was the one chasing Nori.

The entire team of Uchiha had been taken by surprise, and it was only thanks to the quick manifestation of his Sharingan that Nori had managed to scamper away. Their attackers had seemed more than happy to let the kekkei genkai user chase him down, to play with his latest catch like a cat does a mouse.

So while Nori was running for his life, terrified beyond all comprehension, this was nothing but a game to his pursuer, a game Nori was going to lose.

The entire Kaguya clan was known for its ruthlessness, known to fight until the bitter end, to the death. Nori wasn't stupid, he knew that he was outclassed and that if- no, when it came down to the fight, he'd die. Sharingan or no Sharingan.

But he had to try, he had to keep fleeing, because Madara-nii and Izuna were waiting for him to come home.

They'd already lost Katsuro and Mikobi, Nori didn't want to be the next sibling to be added to the list of the dead.

.

A clearing bloomed into existence and Nori had to force himself to land, because there was no way he could leap from one edge of the clearing to the next, he wasn't that good at tree jumping yet. He'd been struggling to stay up there as long as he had already.

A panicked breath left from between his lips, the sweat that'd pooled to the small of his back, a result of breaking past physical boundaries his muscles had tried to set, left his thin tee-shirt stuck to his skin in the uncomfortably human weather. The rain had dragged all of the fabric he was wearing down, and every time he turned his head to a side, the long bangs that framed his face had a tendency to whip out, slapping at his nose and cheeks.

He knew this clearing though, it was just another thirty minutes east until he'd be back deep within Uchiha land, instead of this no man's land. He'd be able to meet up with other clan members, and surely they'd be able to actually fight the Kaguya that was enjoying this game of cat and mouse far too much? If the Senju could take down an adult who used Shikotsumyaku, then surely the Uchiha would be able to take out a teenager with minimum casualties?

"So, the little Uchiha has finally run out of breath."

Said breath caught in his throat at the question that was phrased more like a statement of victory. His limbs shook with adrenaline and fear as he twisted to get a look at the older boy, eyes wide and terrified beneath the black fringe of hair that'd been moulded to his forehead in the rain.

The Kaguya teen was about fourteen years old, older than Madara-nii and right now, at this moment in time, Nori couldn't picture his brother going up against this boy, this boy who'd so brutally slaughtered his clansmen as if they were nothing more than pigs.

His stomach flipped again, bile flooding into his mouth but Nori forced it back down. This was the last possible moment to start throwing up in, it'd only mean a quicker death if he ended up vomiting. There was nothing to do now other than to fight, because if he tried to flee, he'd be turning his back on the Kaguya, and that was just asking to be stabbed.

There was no other way, and he could feel the tears gathering around the corners of his eyes as the inevitable result presented itself in his mind. Long, pale fingers brushed back white hair from brilliant green eyes, the two red dots on the Kaguya's temples seemed far too bright against the dreary shades brought on by the downpour of autumn rain from above.

"I'd like to know the prey's name before it is slaughtered. Children are always so boring." He spoke with clinical detachment, as if Nori was not even human. But wasn't that what he'd just said? Nori was the prey here, he was no longer human to this ninja, just the next target to be taken down.

He didn't want things to drag on, if things were to drag on that meant there'd be far much more pain for Nori, and the little Uchiha wasn't sure he could handle that. But, but stalling might mean back up, even if the odds were minuscule this far from Uchiha land.

Struggling to calm his breathing enough to speak, Nori focused his eyes that burnt with chakra upon the older boy, trying to allow no fear to show on his face. The tear that escaped from the corner of his eyes said otherwise.

"Uchiha Nori."

"And I am Kaguya Manzu. Now let us play." The teen gave a smooth wave of his hands and tiny bullets of bones exploded from the tips of his fingers, rocketing towards Nori far too fast for him to dodge them all but just slow enough that his Sharingan could process the movement. It took every ounce of his concentration to duck the ones that would kill him instantly in his exhausted state, but one still caught him along the forearm, one slicing through the flesh of his thigh.

Biting his lip in order to keep in the scream that wanted to escape, Nori ended up with a whimper instead. Perhaps less attention grabbing than a scream but is opponent still caught the sound regardless. He ran his hands through the seals for a grand fire-ball technique, even if the numbingly cold rain had made his fingers shaky and seemingly unresponsive, which left him taking much longer than usual. A Uchiha wasn't declared battle-ready until they'd mastered the grand fireball technique and Nori had been so proud of himself a fortnight ago when he preformed it.

Now he'd give anything to go back and fail that particular test.

The ball of fire flared in the direction of the Kaguya, but Nori already knew it wouldn't be enough to stop him, not when the older boy was only playing with him, giving him the illusion that he stood a chance.

Still though, the blaze of chakra, the laze of fire, might be enough to bring any Uchihas that were nearby running, so it hopefully wouldn't be a complete waste of chakra.

As he'd expected, but hoped otherwise, the snowy haired teen cleared the fireball with ease, with all the grace of a fully trained ninja. As he twisted in the air, a sword made of bone expanded outwards from his arm, and it was only thanks to the Sharingan that Nori managed to get away with a slash to the side, instead of being cut completely in two.

The blow stung, sizzled with pain but the Uchiha boy couldn't afford to pay his wound any attention, not when he wouldn't be given the time to bleed out with the way the teen was coming at him again. His eyes shut without his permission, not wanting the last thing his Sharingan saw to be the blow that would bring about his death.

Teeth gritted, the young Uchiha waited for the unavoidable blow that would strike him from life.

.

Only, it never came.

Eyes snapping open at the lack of impact, Nori was just in time to see a figure throw themselves between the Kaguya and himself, pushing the Uchiha to a side as it did so.

The sound of bone meeting metal echoed about in his ears, louder than the thunderous pounding of the rain around him.

Had it not been a life or death situation, Nori would have happily screamed his thanks to the god for bringing his saviour to him, for listening to his desperately worded prays between the his hopeless attempts to pull breath into his lungs.

Looking up to thank his clansman, Nori froze at the sight before him.

That was not a Uchiha.

Bright blonde hair, sunny even with the rain that weight down the short spikes had appeared before him, hanging low around the nape of a tanned neck.

The Kaguya boy had skidded to a halt now form where his saviour had thrown his attack of to a side, his green eyes narrowed at the sight before him. Nori wasn't sure he was even breathing as his saviour looked over their shoulder.

The face that greeted him was just as warm as her hair had suggested. Even soaking wet, it was pretty easy to see that his saviour was female. Her thick black lashes had gathered together in clumps as a result of the precipitation falling from the sky. Her cheeks were still rounded with youth, three whisker like markings etched into the skin of each one. Relief and another curious emotion was leaking into the bright blue eyes that peered back at him, a bemused smile on her lips.

"You okay kid?" Her mouth twisted up into a determined smile when she finished voicing her question, clearly already fully aware of the fact she'd just saved him for certain death.

Dumbly Nori nodded, unable to escape the stupor he'd suddenly found himself in. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a small voice whispered that she couldn't be any older than Madara-nii, if not younger.

Even the Kaguya seemed to be struggling to accept the girl's sudden appearance in the midst of their battle, though he seemed to be preparing to actually fight his golden haired saviour.

The girl turned back to look at his pursuer, arms moving to form a handseal that he couldn't see, being situated behind her as he was. It was with a dazed expression that he watched as several clones of the girl exploded into existence around them. He'd never seen anything like it. There were clones that could be made of earth and water, but these ones seemed to have just appeared without any indication of what nature they were.

The girl who he assumed to be the original seeing as she'd not moved yet, threw a set of bandages at one of her clones, who approached him with steady and sure footsteps, though it's hands were held high to show it meant no harm.

"I'm going to patch up your wounds will the boss fights, because otherwise you're gonna bleed out. Don't worry, you're in safe hands for now. Trust me." Like hell he'd be trusting this stranger, even if she had saved him from certain death.

However, he would be willing to allow her to face the Kaguya teen, because she was in, by far, the better condition compared to him. He wasn't stupid, he knew he didn't stand a chance. He could only pray this girl did.

.

Soft bandages were wrapped around the wound he'd taken from the sword first, his shirt having been removed to see that the clone would have full access to anything that needed treatment. Hissing in pain when the white fabric began to put pressure on the cut, Nori twisted his head to look down into the clearing.

The clone had carried him up into the wooden bark, settling him down out of the way of the main body who was about to do battle. All the remaining clones had formed a perimeter around the Kaguya and the main body, watching as the two ninja slowly began to circle one another.

Even from up here, Nori could see that the girl's eyes were narrowed, her lips pressed into a firm line.

"I'm not going to let you have the kid, can't you just turn back and go on your way? We don't need to fight really."

Nori couldn't believe what he was hearing. The girl was actually trying to talk him down? What kind of nutcase was he relying on here?

"Oh I don't think so, my orders are to take him down."

The girl's face tightened, her fists clenching until the knuckles of her tanned skin whitened under the pressure.

"Then I'll stop you." Determination leaked into her words, one look at her face was all it took for Nori to know for sure was that the girl would most certainly be following through with her words, or she'd die trying. The other ninja just laughed, adjusting his stance and summoning a small knife of bone from the palm of his hand. The girl's eyes followed the movement as she too drew a kunai, shifting her feet until she was stood in a defensive position while the clones copied her movement.

Hissing beneath his breath as the clone currently tending to his wounds began to work on his injured thigh, Nori watched the very determined blonde with wide Sharingan eyes.

She was damn serious about defending him. Any other ninja would have walked away, not gotten between a fighting pair. But clearly this girl wasn't a normal ninja.

And then leapt at each other.

It was a smooth flow of twisting limbs, the symphony of clanks as weapon met weapon, fist met arm and legs crashed together. The girl's taijutsu was good, on par with the Kaguya's as they fought. It was only ten seconds, but it felt like forever watching them go at one another.

When the two broke apart, the boy wiped a thin stream of blood away from his arm, lips tilted up in a smirk as the girl copied his action to remove the blood from her cheek.

"That all you got?"

"Like hell!" The girl snarled back, giving a signal and her clones threw themselves forwards, all rushing to get a piece of the Kaguya boy. It was a blur of blonde in the rain, smoke forming when one of the clones, well, popped. It was almost like they were made out of smoke or something, they could only take one hit really, but that was the same for every other variation of clone he'd come across before.

"Boss is pretty confident she can win," the clone beside him spoke up, her bright blue eyes still focused upon his wounds, more specifically, the one upon his arm now, seeing as the others were attended to, "so don't worry, Boss'll look after you." The clone gave a blindingly bright grin, startlingly bright considering the downpour of rain around them.

What kind of shinobi was this girl? Why was she helping him when everyone knew it was survival of the fittest. There was a chance, that by saving him here, he'd be pitted against her later on in his life, that they'd be enemies and he'd have a chance to cut her life short. Why would she risk that?

.

There was a whirling sound from down below and Nori watched as the girl shot forwards, a blue orb of chakra -visible chakra?!- swirling about in her hand and the clear source of the unnatural noise. The blond was still dashing forwards, attack raised and when it made contact with the shield of bone that the Kaguya had created, the shell of ivory gave off the most unholy of screeches as the blue orb began to tear through it, strip by strip, as if it were a drill.

The shield was big though, and Nori didn't even get the time to scream between spotting the twisting bone lance and then watching it drive right through the blonde girl's torso.

He did managed a choked cry of disbelief though, his good hand shooting up to cover his mouth as his eyes widened at the fatal blow his strange saviour had suffered. He hadn't been able to cry for the Uchiha that'd died, shock having held him too tight in its clutches, but now-

Kaguya Manzu gave a flick of the lance in his hand, sending both it and the girl currently skewered upon it crashing to a side, his vivid green eyes scanning the tree-line before they came to rest upon Nori.

In a cruel mockery of a smile, his lips twisted upward, parting to begin a gloat.

But he never got to start.

The clone beside Nori popped at the same time as the most oppressive, most domineering chakra he'd ever felt in his life dropped down on them with the weight of a mountain.

It felt vile, the air seemed to be burning around them and Nori could feel his heart pounding in his chest at the sudden influx of killer intent. He'd felt his father use it before, just to show him and his brothers what they would be facing on the battlefield. He'd unleashed all of the killer intent he could manage, and at the time Nori had thrown up.

Right now, his body just wanted to stop working.

He wanted to cease existing, because only then would he ever be free of the unspeakable feeling.

He clearly wasn't the only one though, the Kaguya was immobilised too, his too bright eyes like saucers in his face.

Nori didn't need to guess to know that the killer intent down in the clearing was that much thicker than what he could feel. He couldn't hear anything over the roaring of his blood in his ears, of his body screaming at him to not flee, but to just lie down and die, to play dead and hope the source would assume it to be true. The only reason that he was able to focus his gaze at all was began the killer intent lessened after it's sudden burst.

Oh, it was still strong, so strong that it made his father's seem nothing more than a toddler trying to play at an adult game, but it was a significant drop from the levels it'd previous been burning at.

The air was still heavy around them, but it wasn't inducing horrible thoughts of suicide any longer. Instead, the main focus of the killer intent, the red chakra that saturated the air, seemed to be gyrating in a whirlwind like pattern, forming a terrifying visage at the epicentre.

Above the small whirlwind was the phizog of a demonic looking fox.

And there were nine strands twisting about in the air beneath that image.

Nori couldn't breathe.

The chakra collapsed inwards as suddenly as it had appeared, surging to coat the figure that was currently kneeling in the dirt. It wrapped around her body in a freak parody of a cloak, one long, sulphurous tail of bubbling, burning red chakra lashing back and forth without any conscious thought on the girl's part.

The lance was quickly removed, thrown to a side and Nori felt sick as he watched the wound sizzle before healing over completely, not even leaving a scar.

The Kaguya was scrambling backwards, his eyes still so wide that they threatened to pop free from his head. No words were exchanged as the girl turned to look at her opponent, neither standing or kneeling. Instead, she was braced in a low crouch, reminding Nori of the Inuzukas he'd heard of in his lessons.

And then she roared, a wave of pure, poisonous chakra scorching the ground around her before she burst into action. The Kaguya had been chasing Nori in order to kill the younger boy.

Instead, he appeared to have met his own death instead.

.

The fight was over in the blink of an eye.

The Kaguya who had once been a teenaged ninja, was now scattered around the clearing in several bloodied pieces, some parts still resembling a body part. Some were just bloodied smears.

But Kaguya Manzu was most certainly now very, very dead.

Nori let his Sharingan eyes, the eyes that recorded everything and made sure he'd be able to remember the open-mouthed scream of terror from Kaguya, swan over to look at the still bubbling form of the girl.

The chakra, the thick red chakra was dying down now, leaving the blonde haired girl stumbling slightly, thrusting out one arm to catch her torso before she fell right into a patch of blood. Nori had never seen so much blood before. The girl's shirt was ruined, the huge hole from the lance leaving a good section of her torso visible to the outside world. The chakra had dissolved into nothingness now from where it'd once clung to the girl's form and it was as if the whole thing had never happened.

Aside from the whole 'body parts littering the clearing' thing.

Nori didn't dare draw any more attention upon himself now. That had been the most brutal death he'd ever seen, and the Kaguya hadn't exactly been kind to the Uchiha they'd killed.

"Damn it!" The girl screamed, slamming her fist into the wet earth beneath her and letting out a low wail, shoulders shaking. With what, Nori didn't know, nor did he really want to find out.

.

Five minutes passed before she seemed to remember his existence. In that time, Nori hadn't moved an inch, instead taking in everything that had to do with his current condition.

First and most important of all, his chakra was low, dangerously so. That last fireball, after using so much to flee and before that, fight the Kaguya had left him almost running on empty, and he was starting to feel dizzy.

Second of all, his wounds were no longer a danger to him, now that they'd been hastily treated.

Third, and most embarrassing of the lot, he'd wet himself at some point during the chase and clearing battle. It had to have been at the flood of unreal killer intent, otherwise he'd have been perfectly in control of that bodily function. It could have been worse though, and he'd cling to that thought for now.

The blonde was moving.

Freezing in place, Nori looked over at the girl, feeling his Sharingan fade as his chakra level dropped far lower than he'd ever felt before.

"You okay kid?" She was looking at him with sad blue eyes, the whisker marks on her cheeks slowly becoming less pronounced. Her body was still shaking, but now he could see it was with exhaustion, a result of coming down from the adrenaline that'd no doubt been flooding her body minutes ago.

Slowly, cautiously, he nodded.

There was no way with his injuries he'd be able to outrun this girl, even if she was as exhausted as him. Fighting her was out of the question. He knew who she was now. She was the one who'd sealed the Kyuubi inside her body, there was no way that she wasn't that child. She was younger than Madara-nii.

The blonde jumped up onto the tree-branch, kneeling beside him and still with that forced, oh so sad smile on her face.

"I'm going to pick you up okay? I promise I won't hurt you, there's just another clearing a bit upstream where I was camping so it's safe. My name's Namikaze Naruto by the way."

"Okay." His words were forced, choked out from his clenching throat.

It was not okay at all.

Upstream was in the opposite direction to the Uchiha stronghold, his previous destination. But what else could he say? No? Ha, he might be in shock, but he wasn't stupid enough to tell this girl no.

The girl gathered him up in her arms, adjusting their bodies until he was held tight to her side, legs wrapped around her waist much like how a toddler was carried by their mother. Only, this girl couldn't be more than four years older than him.

Any other time, he would have protested, would have never allowed himself to be babied in such a way. But he was prey here, in the presence of the king of the predators that sat at the top of the food chain, high above all others.

This girl was dangerous, more dangerous than he would probably ever know, so provoking her he would not be doing.

.

The clearing was one he'd visited previously, back when Madara-nii had taken both him, Izuna and Mikobi out on their first and only camping trip outside the lands. The thought of his twin, dead for ten months now, stung and Nori pushed it down, determined to not yet become another body. He had to live for the both of them, seeing as Mikobi wasn't able to.

The girl, Namikaze, set him down gently just outside of a worn looking tent. It was pitched up under the canopy of trees, giving it shelter from the rain that was still falling from above. With movements made jerky by battle fatigue, Namikaze began rifling through her tent pulling out several different bags. Some held dry-cured meat, others had different collections of fruits, vegetables and nuts held within them.

After a moment, she seemed to find what she was searching for in the form of a chocolate bar, which she hastily unwrapped and bit a chunk off of. Nori had never even seen chocolate before, so was easily startled when the girl thrust the confectionary under his nose.

"Eat, get your blood-sugar levels back up, you've lost a good deal of the stuff." Not as much as the Kaguya had. He wanted to point it out, but didn't dare to do so. Not only would that be ungrateful to the girl that'd saved his life, but insulting someone with her levels of power was just asking to be murdered in his sleep.

Accepting the chocolate, Nori bit into the food, experimentally pressing his tongue flat against the piece in his mouth. The food was from the girl's personal supplies. Chocolate was scare, usually for nobles only, so he highly doubted that it was laced with poison. Why waste the chocolate when she could just slit his throat right here and right now?

"Listen, I'm sorry, about what you saw earlier. I- It won't happen again. I've got it under control, I promise." The demon? She controlled it? No, that wasn't what she was referring to. The chakra then, she was speaking of the demonic chakra.

"You can sleep here for the night and then I'll take you as close to your clan as I dare get in the morning."

Unclipping the water-skin from her backpack, the girl took a long swig before passing the waterproof canvas over into his waiting hands. Numb, Nori just nodded, shaky hand tipping the container back until he got as many mouthfuls as his dry throat needed. The girl, Namikaze, pushed some of her dry-cured meat and an apple into his hand, and Nori couldn't find it in himself to get annoyed. So he just sat and ate, mind aching from all the thoughts that were currently rocketing around inside his head.

"I'm going to set up everything for night, what's your name Uchiha-san?"

Blinking, Nori forced his eyes onto Namikaze, forced himself to really look at her and see the human girl and not the fearsome power she held inside.

"It's Nori."

"Nice to meet you Nori!"

.

The tent was a small, one-man sort of thing, clearly meant for a sole traveller of the adult kind. It was modest, but more than enough for two children seeking shelter from the rain. Namikaze clearly hadn't had it that long, for the scent that clung to its canvas structure didn't belong to her at all.

Shivering, Nori stripped off his shirt, pants and underwear, pulling on the spare pair that Namikaze had offered him before shooing him into the tent. She'd informed him that she planned to give her own blood splattered clothes -what was left of her top that was- a quick wash before bed and had offered to do the same for his. His cheeks burned red as he held his dirtied clothes out of the tent flap, feeling the material snatched away from his fingertips.

There was a soft 'poof' sound, indicating that Namikaze had summoned up a clone to do the job for her, while the girl herself shuffled into the tent after wringing her short blonde hair free of as much water as possible. There was a collection of blankets thrown about, enough to make a comfortable nest for the two of them, and Nori only hesitated slightly before approaching them and laying himself down. His wounds were treated, he was in clean underwear and currently had a strong protector. He could almost feel the last of the adrenaline flee his system, leaving him laid on the blankets and shivering.

Until a body laid down uncomfortably close to his own.

"I just saved you life, I'm not having you die from the elements now that I've put in all that work, dattebayo." The verbal tick had Nori giving a wobbly smile, even as his eyelids drooped in an attempt to close.

The girl's teeth were actually chattering from where she was laid beside him and Nori came to the startling realization that she too was human, that she could die just like he could, and here she was, making herself obviously vulnerable to him. Was it an attempt to comfort him? Could it have been anything else?

He didn't know if that was her true intention, but he appreciated it all the same, and just for now, he allowed himself to ignore every instinct that was screaming at him to get away and rolled closer to the girl, laying so that they were facing one another and mere inches apart.

"Thank you." For saving my life. The last was implied, but he knew the girl heard him, loud and clear. Namikaze pulled him into a hug as his words and she was just so warm that Nori couldn't summon the willpower to wiggle away.

"I'm sorry," was her whispered reply and he knew why. Because she knew that he wouldn't be out of the clan grounds on his own. The fact she even bothered to say it made him feel the tiniest bit safer.

Though he'd never admit to holding the girl as tightly as she held him that night.

* * *

**Urg, long chapter is long. And so now we start seeing some changes, such as Naruto losing herself to the KI of Kyuubi. I actually think this chapter is twice as long as the original, so enjoy? (This was wrote over 24 hours, please be kind, I'm a bit sleep deprived at the moment)**

**Any questions?  
**

**Tsume  
xxx**


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